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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFedEx ships a 850 pound polar bear from zoo to zoo
St. Louis Zoo welcomes 850-pound bear via FedEx
ST. LOUIS (AP) Sometimes, shipping an 850-pound beast can be a real bear.
The St. Louis Zoo on Friday announced the arrival of its latest resident, a 2-year-old male polar bear named Kali that was orphaned as a cub. The bear was shipped in by FedEx plane and truck ahead of its scheduled June 6 debut at the zoo's new Polar Bear Point Exhibit.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/St-Louis-Zoo-welcomes-850-pound-bear-via-6251193.php
The zoo said Kali was resting comfortably and would remain in quarantine for about a month, which is a standard practice that allows an animal to become acclimated to its new digs.
Kali spent the past two years at the Buffalo zoo after he was orphaned in Alaska's wilderness when a hunter unknowingly killed his mother, unaware she had a cub.
Kali's latest adventure came Tuesday, when FexEx having over the years handled everything from endangered sea turtles to seals and pandas stepped in with air and ground transportation to get a bear halfway across the country.
Kali caught a three-hour flight on a FedEx Express 767 jet from Rochester, New York, to Memphis, Tennessee, secured in a specially designed, half-ton aluminum crate while monitored by a veterinarian and two attendants, the company said in its blog.
The crate was placed behind the cockpit wall, allowing a Buffalo zoo representative and Steve Bircher, the St. Louis Zoo's curator of mammals and carnivores, to monitor and hydrate him and "basically talk to him," said Susan Gallagher, the St. Louis zoo's spokeswoman.
At Memphis, FedEx said, the bear was wheeled to a waiting company truck, its drivers trained in handling sensitive shipments. Attendants who followed in a vehicle frequently checked Kali's condition, providing water along the way during the five-hour drive in which the bear was in a cargo area kept at 55 degrees.
logosoco
(3,208 posts)Although I am going to wait a bit, it is going to be big and crowded for a while.
I have been going to the St. Louis Zoo my entire life, born in 64. They are always making such wonderful improvements. So much to see and learn about. NO one can go there and not be amazed by the living things on this planet!
(yes, in a perfect world, there would be no zoos and all animals would live peacefully in their natural habitats, but so many people here and all of our "progress" has made that impossible!).
If you are ever in the area, you must go! Admission to the main parts is free. You can't really see the whole thing in a day, so make some time. Truly an amazing place!
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)But no polar bears should be hunted now...there territory is dwindling rapidly due to global warming and their numbers are diminishing enough.
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)If we don't do something about elephant poaching, they'll be extinct (the African ones) in a short amount of time.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)But the footage you see of those polar bears wasting away is absolutely heartbreaking.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)for shipping?
Lochloosa
(16,063 posts)jmowreader
(50,555 posts)You also need to include some snacks in case his little tummy starts rumbling on the flight. I recommend Teabaggers.