It was a good day for a swim for Ganuk and Henry.
The two polar bears took their first dip in the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat鈥檚 lake Tuesday, swimming around and exploring their space.
The facility, located in the town of Cochrane, Ont. is the world鈥檚 only captive bear facility dedicated to polar bears. It consists of five hectares of space, and is the world鈥檚 largest polar-bear habitat enclosure. The natural spring-fed lake, which just recently opened, is nearly 22 metres deep in one area, and will freeze over in the winter.
Ganuk, 6, and Henry, 3, are exploring the lake and seem to enjoy their new digs, said habitat manager Karen Cummings.
鈥淭hey have been doing things like diving under the water and staying under the water,鈥� Cummings said. 鈥淭hey just can鈥檛 do that in a pool in a man-made facility.鈥�
Cummings said the lake has 鈥渁ll kinds of natural enrichment鈥� for the bears, including fish, beavers, foxes and loons.
The federal and provincial governments, as well as the town of Cochrane, contributed funding for the project.
There are three viewing points for the enclosure, and the public can also tune to the habitat鈥檚 live webcams to
Dylan McCart, a conservation coordinator at the bear habitat, said the enclosures facilitate staff research on polar bear behaviour.
鈥淲e keep track of everything that they are doing throughout the day and correlate that with weather (and) which enclosure they鈥檙e in,鈥� McCart said in an interview on CTV鈥檚 News Channel Wednesday.
McCart said the bear keepers also have 鈥渢raining techniques鈥� to ensure the bears are comfortable, both in their holding area and while they鈥檙e exploring their habitat.
鈥淲e try to build a relationship with our bears so they always feel comfortable with us,鈥� he said.
Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis said the enclosure is the 鈥減erfect opportunity鈥� to study the lakes and to learn more about climate change, learn more about those bears.鈥�
With files from CTV Northern Ontario鈥檚 Natalie Van Rooy
