Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

The Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will conduct a program to identify the reasons for low reproductive rates among polar bears in zoos and help improve propagation and breeding management strategies. The captive population of polar bears is in decline globally and, in the United States, only approximately 40 remain in the nation's zoos. Working in collaboration with the polar bear Species Survival Plan (SSP) and organizations throughout the United States that house polar bears, scientists at CREW will quantify a suite of hormones and signaling molecules that will provide metrics for assessing and improving polar bear reproductive health and wellness. Through open-access publications, the data will be accessible and useful to veterinary and animal care staff, field researchers, and scientists hoping to learn more about polar bear physiology and allowing for more advanced reproductive diagnostics and an increase in reproductive success and number of cubs born each year.