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Tundra The Polar Bear Is Moving

Tundra The Polar Bear
Doug Jaggers/WFYI
Tundra The Polar Bear

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tundra is packing up and leaving Indiana. 

The lone 29-year-old polar bear at the Indianapolis Zoo is moving to the Detroit Zoo this month after zoo officials decided to close the exhibit because it is in need of an upgrade.  

The Detroit Zoo offers large spaces and pools with easy slopes for Tundra to enter and exit the water, especially as she gets older. Tundra has called the Indy Zoo home since 1988. Polar bears were listed as an endangered species in 2008.

Few polar bears are relocated from other facilities in North America due to their protected status, so Indy Zoo officials are exploring options for a different species in the exhibit space. 

The zoo is urging fans to share photos and memories of Tundra on Facebook and Twitter.

Taylor Bennett is the local newscaster for Morning Edition and reporter for WFYI.
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