Kushiro Zoo in Hokkaido Gets New Polar Bear

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:47 JST, January 21, 2026

KUSHIRO, Hokkaido — Visitors to Kushiro Zoo in Hokkaido are able to see a polar bear again for the first time in about a year.

The 13-year-old female polar bear Maruru has been shown to the public since the zoo opened its doors for the first day of the year on Jan. 3.

Maruru was born at Sapporo Maruyama Zoo in December 2012 and moved to Kumamoto City Zoo and Botanical Gardens in 2014 before coming to Kushiro Zoo in December last year.

Kushiro Zoo had been without a polar bear since male bear Kiroru died in November 2024. Maruru is Kiroru’s younger sister.

Weighing about 220 kilograms, Maruru is considered small for a polar bear.

Her adorable expression made a second-grade student from a local elementary school say, “She has a cute face!”

Zoo director Takahiro Suzuki said, “We want Maruru to become the zoo’s new star.”