Polar Bear

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In Planet Zoo, the Polar Bear is a challenging species to maintain due to its immense space requirements and need for pristine, cold water. They are known for their powerful swimming ability and can often be seen patrolling the edges of their icy pools. Enrichment items like frozen fish blocks and large floating platforms are essential to prevent boredom and stereotypic pacing.

In Their Own Story

On July 29, 1994, 29-year-old Australian tourist Kathryn Warburton jumped over two safety rails to get a close-up photograph of Binky in his enclosure. When Binky stuck his head through the bars and grabbed her, she suffered a broken leg and bite wounds. Another tourist caught the event on tape. Binky kept the woman's shoe for three days before it could be retrieved by zoo officials, and the day after the attack, Alaska Star photographer Rob Layman took a photo of Binky holding the shoe in his mouth, an image which was printed in almost every press account of the incident. Warburton gave her other shoe to the Bird House, a bar in nearby Bird Creek that burned down in 1996. Six weeks later, on September 11, Binky was involved in another mauling. Two drunken local teenagers approached the bear's enclosure, and 19-year-old Joshua Huyett was hospitalized with leg lacerations after he was mauled. The zoo did not confirm that Binky was the attacker, but the bear had blood on his face following the incident. Huyett later pled no contest to trespassing and underage drinking, receiving a sentence of community service. Huyett also disputed claims that he had intended to swim in the enclosure's pool, explaining that he had shed his pants to slip from the bear's grasp. After these attacks, Binky received international news coverage. Binky merchandise was created, including T-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers, often adorned with the shoe photo or with the slogan 'Send another tourist, this one got away'. Local letters to the editor supported Binky during both incidents, most often arguing that the inherently dangerous nature of polar bears should be respected. The zoo's director, Sammye Seawell, criticized Warburton's actions in the Anchorage Daily News, saying '[s]he violated the rules and jeopardized the bear's life.' Though Seawell initially insisted that the attack would not change how the zoo was run, security around Binky's cage was upgraded to keep zoo visitors out. In 1995, Binky's cagemate Nuka suddenly became sick with the parasitic disease sarcocystis, dying from associated liver failure on July 14, a week after her symptoms began. Shortly thereafter, Binky showed signs of the disease. On the morning of July 20, he went into convulsions and died. Zoo visitors left bouquets of flowers outside the bears' empty enclosure, and the zoo's memorial service saw a high turnout despite pouring rain. The bears were buried on zoo grounds.

Reader's Guide

Binky's life offers key lessons for any zookeeper handling a polar bear. First, respect the animal's power: as a full-grown bear, Binky weighed 1,200 pounds and was described by his keeper as 'stubborn [and] independent.' He bit off a zoo employee's finger in 1980, and in 1994 mauled two visitors who entered restricted areas. The zoo's director, Sammye Seawell, noted that the first victim 'violated the rules and jeopardized the bear's life.' After the attacks, security around Binky's cage was upgraded to keep visitors out. Second, enclosure design matters. Binky was initially placed in a 13-by-20-foot (4.0 by 6.1 m) oval cage, which he quickly outgrew. A fundraiser and city land purchase eventually funded a new enclosure that opened in May 1977. Third, social dynamics are tricky. Binky got along poorly with male polar bear Siku, who was sent to a zoo in Morelia, Mexico, in 1981. His cagemate Nuka died from sarcocystis in 1995, and Binky died from the same parasitic disease on July 20, 1995. Finally, public engagement can be a double-edged sword: Binky's visits to North Slope villages and his later celebrity status (with merchandise like T-shirts and bumper stickers) made him a local hero, but also drew crowds that sometimes ignored safety rules. The key takeaway: provide ample space, enforce strict visitor barriers, monitor health for parasites, and be prepared for a bear that 'likes to play games' and is 'very smart.'

Did You Know?

• Polar bears have black skin under their white fur, which helps absorb sunlight for warmth.
• A polar bear's sense of smell is so acute it can detect a seal from nearly a kilometer away.
• In Planet Zoo, polar bears will occasionally 'play' by rolling in snow or splashing in their pools, a behavior based on real-life observations.