Assiniboine Park Zoo adopts 11-month-old polar bear cub

Its about to get a little more crowded at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

The zoo is taking in an 11-month-old polar bear cub found orphaned in Churchill.

The 38-kilogram female cub was found wandering near Churchills airport, and Assiniboine Park Zoo officials agreed to take in the cub.

Zoo officials said they prefer polar bears remain in the wild, but there are no known instances of orphaned cubs surviving on their own in the wild.

The cub is expected to arrive at the zoo on Monday night, and then will be quarantined and evaluated before she will enter her enclosure.

The zoo already has two polar bears at its facility. Hudson, a young male bear, moved to the zoo in January, and last month another bear was brought to the facility from Churchill.

That bear was captured after attacking a human. It remains in quarantine at the zoo, but once it is deemed healthy it will be released into its own enclosure.

The zoo is also looking at taking in an Argentinean polar bear named Arturo. Officials from the zoo are travelling to Argentina next month to evaluate the bears health. If he is strong enough, he will make the journey to Winnipeg to live at the zoo.

The bears will be on display at the zoos Journey to Churchill exhibit, which is currently under construction and expected to open in 2014.