Ueno Zoo We have two Polar Bear animals, a female "Dare" and a male "Ikolo". Dare was born on December 2, 2008 at Fasano Safari in Italy, and Ikoro was born on December 9, 2008 at Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo, Japan.

Both Dea and Ikolo are 7 years old. Both Dea and Ikoro are now 7 years old and have reached the age at which they can be bred. It has also been a year since Ikoro came from the Obihiro Zoo in Hokkaido, and he has become accustomed to the Ueno environment. So Ueno Zoo thought it was time to bring the two animals closer together for breeding.

Polar Bear s breeding season is spring and early summer. Therefore, on March 22, 2016, the two animals were placed together indoors.


March 22, 2016, the day they first lived together. The one on the left is the female "Dea," and the one on the right is the male "Ikoro."
Since this was their first time living together, we took every precaution. There was no aggressive behavior, and they got close to each other, creating a good atmosphere overall. Since then, we have been letting them live together indoors whenever the timing is right. If their relationship continues to be good, we plan to let them live together in the outdoor enclosure as well.

We, the zookeepers, are also hoping that Dea and Ikoro will become a couple, but they are still very young. We plan to let them slowly and patiently get closer to each other.

In the future, as they continue to live together, we may have to return one of the two to their sleeping area earlier than usual, which may cause inconvenience to visitors. However, we hope you will continue to watch over Dea and Ikoru warmly as they grow older.

[Ado Yamazaki and Waka Otsu, Animal Care and Exhibition Staff, Ueno Zoo East Garden]

(April 7, 2016)