A cool new neighbor: Brookfield Zoo welcomes new polar bear

BROOKFIELD, Ill. - A frosty new face is coming to Brookfield Zoo this fall—an 8-year-old polar bear ready to meet her new neighbors.

What we know:

Amelia Gray comes from the Oregon Zoo, where she is known to be playful and curious. Her name Amelia means "defender" as she is the ambassador of her wild brothers and sisters, and Gray, a reference to the gray patch she had as a baby on the left side of her neck, according to zoo officials.

This transfer is part of the cooperation among Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos to maintain a sustainable and genetically diverse population of polar bears. 

The hope is Amelia Gray will mate with a Brookfield male polar bear to later raise cubs.

Guests will be able to see Amelia Gray as early as mid-October.

For more information and to plan your next visit, go to brookfield.org.

What they're saying:

"We look forward to welcoming Amelia Gray to Brookfield Zoo Chicago, as her arrival is a powerful opportunity to educate the community of the critical need to protect this vulnerable species," said Mark Wanner, associate vice president of animal care and conservation at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. "With declining populations in the wild, zoos play an invaluable role in understanding polar bears and ways we can help protect their populations in the wild." 

"We still have gaps in understanding how climate change is affecting wild polar bears, and it’s essential that the bears in professional care help scientists learn more about their species," said Amy Cutting, vice president of conservation at Polar Bears International. "These bears are perfect candidates to help because they already voluntarily participate in many care-focused behaviors and seem to find those experiences enriching."