Hot Polar Bear Adorably Rolls Around on Ice Cubes and Celebrates Successful Surgery in Utah Zoo
One Utah polar bear truly understands the importance of post-op icing!
After undergoing a successful surgery earlier this year, Nora the polar bear — who currently lives at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah — celebrated by spending some time in her outdoor enclosure, where she adorably rolled around on a pile of ice cubes.
The video, which was shared to Hogle Zoo’s Facebook on May 6, captured happy bear enjoying the cold cubes while flipping from her back to her belly — ensuring that every part of her body (even her face!) was able to soak up the coldness.
At one point, the 3-year-old arctic mammal, who recently underwent surgery to repair her broken humerus bone, even chowed down on a few cubes to stay hydrated in the warmth.
“Ohhhhhh yes!!! That feels good!!” a rep at the zoo wrote underneath the clip. “Our sweet girl is healing beautifully. Her surgical team studied the X-rays and are thrilled her bone is healing nicely and the metal looks to be in great shape.”
“Because of this, and her training ‘rehab’ sessions with keepers, she’s been given access to a small outside holding yard,” they continued.
“It’s very difficult to manage the activity level of a playful bear. But she has LOVED her added outdoor enrichment!!!”
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On Feb. 1, Hogle Zoo announced that Nora had broken her humerus (the bone from the shoulder to elbow) on her front, right leg after engaging in her “signature style of roughhouse play.”
Lead Keeper Kaleigh Jablonski explained that the behavior was not uncommon of Nora, as she is a “very rambunctious bear” who will often “head-dive into the snow without any hesitation.”
“She just plays rough,” Jablonski said.
After examining her for a few days, a team of veterinarians determined that Nora needed surgery, which she finally underwent on Feb. 4.
The zoo even recorded a segment of the surgery on Facebook to keep Nora’s followers up to date with her progress.
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Since then, the trainers have kept followers up to date with her recovery process, from her first steps to eating to everything in between.
She’s also been staying in her own enclosure, away from her usual habitat with the zoo’s other female polar bear, Hope, in an effort to avoid further injury.
By the looks of the most recent video, it seems Nora is well on her way to recovery and one step closer to eventually being reunited with Hope.
Nora was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio before she was taken in by the Hogle Zoo in the fall of 2017.
Zookeepers initially brought her in to be paired with then-two-year-old Hope, but she has quickly made a name for herself as one of the zoo’s fan-favorite animals.
