Klondike's journey to Phila. Zoo

By Arlene W. Leib

This is a love story about a regal polar bear named Klondike, who died on Oct. 24, and how she came to live at the Philadelphia Zoo.

I helped Klondike make the zoo her home when she was a baby, and for almost 34 years, I've loved her like family. This is her story.

Once upon a time in the early 1980s, I bought the three bears for the Philadelphia Zoo. I worked for an ad agency, Montgomery & Associates, and our client the Isaly Klondike Co. of Hanover, Pa., manufacturers of Klondike Ice Cream Bars, used a polar bear mascot in its advertising and packaging.

I was friends with the Philadelphia Zoo's public relations director, Kathy Lincoln, and we talked about how public zoos buy animals. Lincoln told me there was a software program identifying gestating animals and babies ready for adoption.

The zoo at that time had no polar bears in residence. So I asked if I could get my client, who loves polar bears, to buy some for the zoo, would they be interested? I asked Lincoln to find me three bears and tell me a price, and I'd pitch the client with the win-win idea.

She found my bears within days. There was a surplus of polar bears at the time; they breed well in captivity, and there weren't many zoos like Philadelphia's, with the new, man-made natural habitat called Bear Country, which opened in April 1980 at a cost of $1.5 million.

The three bears would cost $1,000 each. With an average life span of 35 years and a reputation as giant, happy, and lovable clowns, I told our client, they were a great investment in spirit and kind, and they agreed.

Purchases were made and plans were in place, but the story then went south.

The three bears arrived at Bear Country and died within weeks of each other between July and October of 1980. It was front-page news across the country, and we were all stunned by the loss.

When it was determined that the bears died of unrelated causes and the zoo was not to blame, I talked our client into buying three more bears. They arrived at the zoo 11 months later - and one would be christened "Klondike."

Unfortunately, the first bear died 15 hours after arrival from heat stress and improper transport. But the other two were frisky and healthy. They were carefully observed and quarantined for 10 days and then proclaimed healthy.

Bear No. 1, as the zoo called her, was an 11-month-old female from the Bronx Zoo, and she would be named Klondike, for our client. Bear No. 2 was a 200-pound baby from the Seneca Zoo in Rochester, N.Y.

The zoo and city announced that Oct. 25, 1981, would be declared Polar Bear Day. There was free admission with a Klondike Bar wrapper, free Klondike Bars to eat, and lots of other giveaways. The two new polar bears were formally introduced to the public by William V. Donaldson, the zoo's president and executive director, and Klondike was christened.

Bear No. 2 still needed a name, and I worked with the Daily News to sponsor a Name the Polar Bear Contest. For one month, a column appeared every day in the paper with an entry blank for readers to mail in their suggested names for the bear. The grand prize would be 1,000 Klondike Bars, a family membership and personal tour of the zoo, and an invitation to attend the Jan. 31 ceremony christening Bear No. 2. The winner would be announced in the Daily News on Jan. 29, with six runners-up receiving prizes.

An unbelievable 14,017 entries arrived at the Daily News. Some were funny - Beary Manilow and P.T. Bearnum - and others topical, like Annie-Freeze, Peppermint, and Ivory.

Choosing winners was a challenge. I went to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and put together a panel of judges from children who were patients. With a bearable list of finalists, they came up with the winners.

On Jan. 29, the Daily News announced that the "Unbearable Wait Is Over." "Coldilocks," the name submitted by school crossing guard Pat Westfield of Fishtown, was declared the grand prize winner. The 46-year-old widow, who lived with her 85-year-old father, told the Daily News she thought of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" when submitting her entry. What would she do with 1,000 Klondike Bars? we asked. "I cross youngsters from two parochial schools," she replied. "They'll know what to do with all that ice cream.

And on Jan. 31, 1982, the zoo celebrated and christened Coldilocks.

Klondike and Coldilocks went on to frolic for 34 years in Bear Country, delighting Philadelphians, visitors from around the world, and children of all ages. Now, with Klondike gone, Coldilocks carries the torch as the oldest living polar bear in this nation. Long may she reign.

Arlene W. Leib is a writer who has worked in public relations, media relations, and marketing for decades. arlene@lookpr.net