Nora's Family Reunion: Oregon Zoo Will Be Home To Her Half-Sister

PORTLAND, OR —It's going to be family reunion time at the Oregon Zoo. Nora, the zoo's almost 6 year old polar bear is going to be getting a special visitor.

Her younger, half-sister, Amelia Gray, is headed to Portland to join Nora at the Oregon Zoo. Amelia is almost five. The two share a father but have different mothers.

Nora famously arrived at the Oregon Zoo when she was one after being born at the Toledo Zoo where she was abandoned by her mother. She was raised by keepers who hand-fed her.

The American Association of Zoos and Aquariums Polar Bear Species Survival Plan recommended she be transferred to the Hogle Zoo in Utah. She spent three years there before returning to Portland this past spring to help open the zoo's new Polar Bear Passage.

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The Maryland Zoo says that's one of the reasons Amelia is headed here.

"Amelia Gray is more cautious of her surroundings and needs more time to assess all of the input she receives from her environment,” said Maryland Zoo general curator Mike McClure. “She also seems to do well, having time alone to help her decompress from lots of stimulus. Oregon's new Polar Passage habitat has several different areas and will be able to provide her with her own space as needed and opportunities for continued socialization.”

A spokesman for the zoo says that there is no date set yet on when Amelia Gray will arrive.