The polar bear that stole Portland's heart, and mine, is set to leave
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Happy trails, Nora. Photo: Courtesy of Dave Killen
The Oregon Zoo will soon say goodbye to Nora, a remarkable polar bear who enjoyed viral stardom as a cub and overcame all manner of ursine life obstacles as she grew.
Why it matters: Nora is a special bear — to her species, to Portlanders and to me personally.
Catch up quick: Nora was abandoned by her mother soon after she was born at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio in 2015, and zookeepers made the risky decision to raise her by hand.
- Only a handful of newborn polar bear cubs had been hand-raised, and the five-woman team of keepers knew there was no guarantee of success.
- Within a few months, Nora developed metabolic bone disease — suffering from twisted bones and small fractures in some of her limbs — and her keepers weren't sure she'd survive.
- But the underdog cub became a viral sensation at the same time, with millions viewing videos of her feeding and playing with her keepers.
Zoom in: A change in her formula proved effective, and Nora soon grew large enough to need a new home, moving to Portland for her first residency in 2016.
- At the Oregon Zoo, her keepers noticed signs that she was struggling to adjust — after so much time around humans, it was unclear if she knew how to be a polar bear — and she was put on a regimen of antianxiety medications and antidepressants.
- The meds worked, but Nora was alone and needed the company of another bear. So ahead of construction of a new habitat in Portland, she was moved to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City.
- She returned to Portland in 2021 and, despite a hitch in her gait and ongoing skeletal issues, has seemingly lived the life of a happy and healthy bear.
Zoom out: As miraculous as Nora's early life was, how she came to be in a zoo is just as remarkable.
- That story begins in 1988 in Wales, Alaska, a tiny Native village on the Bering Strait.
- Gene Agnaboogok, a hunter in the village, was on the sea ice looking for game when he fell through the roof of a polar bear den, landing on top of the mother bear.
- She attacked and he shot her, but he rescued the two cubs who remained.
One of those cubs would later father Nora at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.
💭 My thought bubble: I was able to write most of what you just read from memory after I reported extensively on Nora's early life for a five-part series I wrote for the Oregonian, which I later expanded into a book.
- Aside from my pets, I've never known an animal as well as I know Nora, and it's been a privilege to document what she has meant to so many people.
- I haven't visited her as much as maybe I should have, but it was nice knowing she was close by. I'll miss her.
What's next: Nora is slated to say goodbye to Portland this fall as she heads to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin, where zookeepers hope she'll produce her own cubs.
- The Oregon Zoo's polar bear habitat won't be empty for long — 2-year-old Kallik is set to arrive after Nora departs.