Polar bear that attacked man in Churchill arrives in Winnipeg

A polar bear that attacked a Winnipeg man in Churchill last month has arrived in Winnipeg, the Assiniboine Park Zoo announced Thursday.

In a news release, the zoo said the three-year-old bear is now at the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.

Zoo officials travelled to Churchill earlier this week to bring the bear back to Winnipeg.

The bear is doing well after making the trip from Churchill and is now comfortable in the IPBCC, said Head of Veterinary Services Dr. Chris Enright. Well now begin a slow process of transitioning him to life here at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

The bear is in a month-long quarantine while he adapts to his new surroundings.

He'll join Hudson as the second polar bear to make his temporary home in the facility until the Journey to Churchill exhibit opens in the summer of 2014.

They will each get their own enclosure, though.

Students in Churchill to name the bear

Dr. Brian Joseph, director of zoological operations,said students at Churchill's Duke of Marlborough School will get to pick the polar bear's name.

"What we're doing, is we're having the children of Churchill decide what his name will be, because he's from the same area that they are," he said.

"That's just a start, because we're going to be involved with distance learning with the school with virtual field trips," he added.

Joseph said the bear's future looks bright.

"Once he acclimates here, and once he and Hudson get to know each other, we do a very, very cautious introduction," he said. "Then they will have playmates, just as if they were from the same mother."