Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


1

Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female

Japan park figures out why polar bears don't have much chemistry

Share

(Newser) – A Japanese zoo is learning it might want to check the plumbing more closely the next time it acquires a polar bear cub, CNN reports. Tsuyoshi was brought to the Kushiro Zoo to breed with 11-year-old Kurumi. But when the cub reached reproductive age, he turned out to be she, which explained why Tsuyoshi wasn't making a move on “his” older lady.

But the zoo won't be sending Tsuyoshi away, or even changing her name to the more feminine Tsuyoko, as local residents are wild about the her. It's not an isolated mix-up: Another zoo adopted Tsuyoshi's "brother”—who turns out to be her sister.

Tsuyoshi, a 4-year-old female polar bear that the Kushiro Municipal Zoo in Japan believed was male.
Tsuyoshi, a 4-year-old female polar bear that the Kushiro Municipal Zoo in Japan believed was male.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I have rather mixed feelings, given the need for breeding, but Tsuyoshi is an idol for Kushiro. - Zookeeper Yoshio Yamaguchi on keeping a female polar bear his zoo thought was male

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
1 comment
VIEWING:
 
inky
Nov 26, 08 1:38 PM CST
Somehow, someway, I just know this is Sarah Palin's fault. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

11 Stories

Zoo Tries to Lure Stranded Polar Bear Out of Moat

Zero has been stuck in Milwaukee park's moat for 2 weeks

Oct 27, 08 4:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Staff members at the Milwaukee County Zoo are taking new action to rescue a polar bear named Zero who has been stuck in the moat that surrounds his habitat for 2 weeks, the Journal Sentinel reports. Using a crane, handlers lowered a big plastic crate filled with Zero’s favorite... More »

MORE ABOUT:
zoo • polar bear • rescue • escape • apple • animal • crane • Milwaukee County Zoo • Zero

 National Zoo's Panda Preggers? 

Hormone levels suggest Mei Xiang may be expecting

Jun 20, 08 11:56 AM CDT
(AP) - The National Zoo in DC says panda mother Mei Xiang is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda. Hormone test results indicate Mei Xiang will either... More »

MORE ABOUT:
pregnancy • breeding • Washington DC • hormones • zoo • panda • National Zoo

 Japan's Oldest Giant Panda Dies 

Tokyo Zoo star was 22

Apr 30, 08 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ling Ling, the undisputed star of the Tokyo Zoo and a symbol of friendship between Japan and China, died today of heart failure, the AP reports. At 22—the equivalent of 70 human years—the giant panda was Japan’s oldest, and the fifth-oldest in the world. Ling Ling had... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • Japan • zoo • panda • Tokyo Zoo

11 Stories


Talk about gender confusion: some polar bears were born with both gender organs
New Zealand Herald


World  •  Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserWorld on Twitter

 
breeding • Japan • zoo • polar bear • gender confusion

from our news partners