TACOMA, Wash. — They're the top attraction at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. The big one's name is Astra. She weighs in at nearly 600 pounds,
"Astra is more of a 'I'm going to kill everything/destroy all the toys' kind of bear," said Sheriden Ploof, Assistant Curator of Marine Mammals & Birds. "She's a real polar bear."
The smaller is Laerke.
"She's a little more gentle, a little slower to try things, but is really interested in her keepers," said Ploof. "She was our hand raised bear."
Laerke is half the size of her sister, but both of them are growing thanks to the nutritious breakfasts Ploof prepares, with the help on this particular morning, of host Saint Bryan.
"He really dug in there quite nicely and he weighed out that fish really well," said Ploof.
There's bucketloads of herring and capelin.
"We look it over every day to make sure it's nice and healthy for them," said Ploof.
Some raw meat. and a big bucket full of fat. There's a head of lettuce and a surprising polar bear favorite - yams.
"What they really like is if we cut them up and put them in the microwave and soften them up for them," laughed Ploof.
Inexplicably the bear cubs prefer yams to salmon.
"We gave salmon to them a couple of weeks ago and they were like 'We don't know what to do with this' so so we're trying every week with them to get them to eat it," Ploof said. " But they're like toddlers so, you know, new food is different for them."
Separated at birth, the cubs are growing accustomed to each other and to their new home.
"We're seeing them get into more of a routine," said Ploof. "They are eating their food consistently and they are interacting more with each other. They have more play type behavior and sleeping next to each other so that tells us they're getting more comfortable in the space."
The best time to see the polar bears is at opening time, 9 a.m., or at 11:30 when zoo keepers give a talk that involves tossing treats into the water. Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is open every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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