Polar bear leaving Oregon Zoo for new home in Chicago next month

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- One of the Oregon Zoo's half-sister polar bears, Amelia Gray, is heading out east, the zoo announced Thursday.

According to the Zoo, Amelia is moving to Brookfield Zoo Chicago in early September to help try and save her species.

The Oregon Zoo's deputy director of animal care, Rachel Ritchason, shared that it's been an honor to care for Amelia, but she is happy that her move will result in the possibility of some new polar bear cubs.

“We’ve been so honored to care for Amelia these past four years,” said Ritchason. “We’re really going to miss her. But we’re also excited that she’ll get to spend time with a male bear — and hopefully be able to raise some cubs. Our goal is to ensure a long-term future for one of the world’s most vulnerable species.” 

Due to changes in their natural Arctic habitat, polar bears are classified as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the zoo said.

The zoo says that moving Amelia is part of a new program hoping to maintain a sustainable and genetically diverse polar bear population at zoos and aquariums.

“We’re fighting extinction on two fronts,” said Ritchason. “We’re supporting efforts to save wild bears in the Arctic while also striving to maintain a healthy population in professional care.”

Both Amelia and her half-sister Nora have lent a helping paw to conservation science, assisting with the calibration of a laser for measuring body mass, using a swim flume to determine the caloric requirements of wild bears and even testing the "Burr on Fur," a way to help track bears in the Arctic.

Amelia was born at the Columbus Zoo in 2016 and has lived in Portland since 2021.

Nora will be staying in Portland and the Oregon Zoo said there may be opportunities for her to raise cubs in the future.