Point Defiance Zoo’s Last Polar Bear Is Leaving Tacoma

Tacoma will soon be without a polar bear at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Laerke, the zoo’s 5-year-old female polar bear, is expected to leave Tacoma this fall for another accredited zoo in the Midwest, where she’ll be paired with a male as part of an effort to breed polar bears in human care. Her exact destination and departure date haven’t been announced yet.

The move comes through the Polar Bear Population Alliance, a collaboration among zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that coordinates breeding and transfers in an effort to maintain a healthy and genetically diverse population of polar bears.

For Laerke, it’s the latest chapter in an unusual life.

She was born at the Detroit Zoo in 2020 alongside her twin sister, Astra, but suffered a serious medical emergency shortly after birth. Unlike Astra, Laerke had to be hand-raised by zoo staff and has continued to receive individualized care for ongoing health needs.

The sisters arrived together at Point Defiance in 2023 when they were 2 years old. Tacoma visitors got to watch the pair grow up together until Astra left Point Defiance last year, also under a breeding recommendation. That left Laerke as the zoo’s only polar bear.

Now it’s her turn.

Female polar bears generally reach reproductive maturity between 4 and 6 years old. Point Defiance staff have been monitoring Laerke’s hormones and confirmed that she is showing evidence of reproductive cycling. Zoo officials say her move will give her the opportunity to potentially become a mother and contribute to the next generation of polar bears.

Breeding the animals in U.S. zoos has become increasingly important — and increasingly difficult. When Astra left Tacoma last year, Point Defiance officials said there had been no polar bear cubs born in the United States during the previous two years.

Laerke’s departure also raises a bigger question for Tacoma: Will Point Defiance get another polar bear?

Not anytime soon, apparently.

The zoo says it has no immediate plans to bring another polar bear to Tacoma after Laerke leaves. Point Defiance will, however, remain a designated polar bear facility and continue its conservation work as a Polar Bears International Arctic Ambassador Center and member of the Polar Bear Population Alliance.

That includes research with Polar Bears International. Point Defiance has participated in projects such as the “Burr on Fur” study, which tests temporary tracking devices that can be attached to wild polar bears without collars.

The polar bear habitat itself isn’t disappearing either. Parks Tacoma says the exhibit is scheduled for a future renovation to meet rising animal-care standards and provide visitors with improved up-close viewing opportunities.

And the enclosure won't sit completely empty while the zoo figures out its long-term plans. Beginning in early 2027, Point Defiance’s penguins are expected to temporarily move into the polar bear habitat while their own expanded exhibit is under construction.

For now, though, Tacoma still has some time to see Laerke.

Point Defiance says it will announce her destination and exact departure date once arrangements with the receiving zoo are finalized. Until then, visitors can still find her in the zoo’s Arctic Tundra area — swimming in her saltwater pool, playing with enrichment toys and doing the things that have made her a favorite with Tacoma zoo visitors since she arrived three years ago.

When she leaves this fall, it will be the first time in years that Point Defiance Zoo won't have a polar bear on exhibit — and there’s currently no timetable for when one might return.