It’s hard to explain the hold Klondike and Snow had on Denver in 1995. We were obsessed! Born in the winter of 1994, the polar bear cubs were abandoned by their mother, Ulu, just after birth and raised by Denver Zoo staff. For the next year, local media followed the brother and sister’s every move like they were real deal celebrities. (Way back in the mid ‘90s, Denver was a much smaller town and this kinda thing was big news for us cowtowners! 😉)
When the twins were a year old, they were shipped off to live at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where the pair would remain together until 2012. At that point, the teenage siblings were separated — Snow was sent to live at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona, on the basis that the drier climate there would hopefully alleviate her allergies. Sadly, Snow died several months later from an undiagnosed heart condition. Her brother Klondike died in 2013.
For a deeper look into their first year of life at the Denver Zoo, check out this 1996 documentary on Klondike and Snow from New Hampshire Public Television.
