Japanese zookeepers mistakenly set up 2 female polar bears
Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 | 10:22 AM ET
Canadian Press: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO - Japanese zookeepers have wondered for a while why two polar bears that they had hoped would mate have shown little interest in each other.
The answer came this month when the zoo discovered both the bears were female.
Tsuyoshi, a four-year-old polar bear, and 11-year-old Kurumi have been living in the same enclosure at the Kushiro Municipal Zoo in Hokkaido in northern Japan since June.
The zoo said Wednesday it thought Tsuyoshi was male because of the bear's appearance. Male polar bears are generally significantly larger than females.
Experts say when polar bears are young, it is difficult to determine their sex because their long hair covers their reproductive organs. Tsuyoshi was determined to be male at three months old.
But earlier this month, the zoo put Tsuyoshi under an anesthetic and learned he was a she.