The playful polar bear twins, Sizzel and Todz were one year old on 2nd December 2015. The two have grown rapidly over the last year from helpless, hamster-sized babies to tough adolescents. They are very active steal the show on a daily basis with their diving and wrestling games. They are brother and sister of the popular polar bear Vicks (2010).
On their special day, much to the visitors delight, they were given a birthday cake made for them by their keepers. This frozen cake was made from herring, carrots, endive, dog pellets and rose hip syrup and a large carrot was put on top rather than a candle. The cake was not only a tasty treat but a play thing for the twins.
Today the twins are sizeable bears; Todz weighs around 100kg and his smaller sister weighs in at around 80 kg. They play together all day long only stopping for a refreshing swim to cool down. The film below, made by our fan Diruam, shows how the twins have developed over the past year.
Follow the adventures of the playful polar bear twins with these fan films.
The twins took their first steps in the outside world on 27 February 2015 which, coincidentally, is also “International Polar Bear Day”. This day is intended to draw attention to the protected status of the polar bear that is threated with extinction as the result of the loss of sea ice. Our polar bears in the zoo act as ambassadors for their wild cousins. Blijdorp supports a WWF project in Spitsbergen that uses satellite tracking to follow the movements of a number polar bears, including Isdimma 2 (sponsored by Blijdorp). This project evaluates the impact of the melting ice on the behaviour and reproduction of polar bears. The more we know about this, the better we can act to protect the bears.
