A decade of Columbus Zoo stories worth revisiting

My first assignment: The public debut of celebrity polar bear cub Nora.

• I also learned the zoo beat is full of lots of interesting science, like her survival story as a hand-raised cub.

Today on National Zoo Lovers Day, revisit some other noteworthy breakthroughs:

🐱 Two cheetah cubs from 2020 were the world's first born via in vitro fertilization.

🐘 Breeding milestones last year included a world record number of weedy seadragon dads and a rare pair of elephants.

• Fun fact: One elephant mama does yoga.

🦠 A new lab, launched in 2023, is working to keep elephants safe from a deadly virus.

🐠 Ongoing research is restoring coral reefs and local endangered species, like garter snakes and freshwater mussels.

• The zoo helped reestablish Ohio's trumpeter swan population, and a pair housed there may become first-time parents this summer.

👑 And Stubby the manatee continues her work as a surrogate mother — and her reign as "queen of the zoo."

What we're watching: Last week, the zoo confirmed plans for a new aquatic conservation center and aquarium in the years ahead.