Como's bears to head to Detroit

Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune

Buzz, one of Como Park’s two polar bears, and his brother Neil are headed to Detroit while the zoo builds a new home for them.

Star Tribune

Last update: February 11, 2008 - 11:08 PM

Buffalo turned out to be a no, but Detroit looks like it's a go for Neil and Buzz, the Como Zoo's popular polar bears, who need a temporary home while their new digs in St. Paul are built.

Officials at Como Zoo and the Detroit Zoo are working on the final arrangements, but if all goes well, the bears will be off to the Motor City by early spring, said Michelle Furrer, a Como Zoo spokeswoman.

The Detroit Zoo's Arctic Ring of Life is the world's largest polar bear exhibit and will be "very nice" for Neil and Buzz, Furrer said.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan recommended Detroit after a zoo in Buffalo, N.Y., declined to accept Como's bears because modifying its space to accommodate them would be too costly.

While Neil and Buzz are away, Como will build them a new home. Called Polar Bear Odyssey, the $14.3 million project will include more than 13,140 square feet of natural landscape, along with three pools to provide the bears with options that mirror their native tundra. When finished, it will be four times larger than their current space.

Construction should be done in 2010.

TIM HARLOW