Ohio zoo welcomes twin polar bear cubs

TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Zoo has two reasons to celebrate: twin baby polar bears!

In a post to its Facebook page, the zoo said, “We can bear-ly contain our excitement! For the first time since 2012, we welcomed twin polar bear cubs to the Toledo Zoo family!”

Zoo officials said the cubs were born to 24-year-old Crystal and 18-year-old Nuka as part of the polar bear Species Survival Program. Nuka was specifically brought to the Toledo Zoo in an attempt to have him mate with Crystal.

Because they are so young, zoo officials said they do not know what gender the cubs are. The public is invited to watch the tiny creatures as they grow via a livestream on the zoo’s YouTube page. The feed is available daily from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. EST. While the camera is off outside of those hours, the microphone remains on so visitors can hear the bears.

Watch the polar bears via livestream:

“Mom is doing everything she should do,” Michale Frushour, the zoo’s curator of mammals, told the Toledo Blade. “Cubs are happy and healthy, warm in their den with mom.”

The cubs are expected to make their public debut on exhibit in the spring of 2023, WLWT reported.

The babies are Crystal’s eighth and ninth cubs, WTOL reported.