HenryandIceberg1Can’t get enough of Henry, the bear from Down-Under – or goofy Ganuk?  You’re not alone.

The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat is bringing their bears closer to the masses with 4 state of the art cams provided by Earthcam, set to go public, 9 a.m., April 13, 2016.

“This is just another tool the Polar Bear Habitat has enabled so people can see our bears in a very natural, transparent way.  Although they’re not always doing something camera worthy, they definitely have their show moments,” said Habitat Manager, Karen Cummings.  “We have to warn you though … watching polar bears can be addictive.  We don’t recommend allowing your staff access to watch during work hours – they may not get any work done.”

The cameras not only a nice thing for the public, they are intrinsic for the Polar Bear Habitat’s animal care staff to monitor and collect data on polar bear behaviours that enable them to incorporate any necessary changes to their care.

The camera feeds will be available on the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat website at www.polarbearhabitat.ca and on www.earthcam.com as their “Polar Bear Cams”.

“We’re excited to welcome the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat to the EarthCam network and transport people around the world to this incredible facility,” said Lisa Kelly, Strategic Sales Director at EarthCam. “The live webcams give viewers the unique opportunity to get up close to these amazing bears and get a greater understanding of the conservation efforts.”

The cameras are accessible between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, eastern standard time while the bears have access to their enclosures in daylight hours.

The cameras were part of an expansion project the Habitat has undertaken over the past year, and is the final piece of many that included enclosing Lake Hector as their fourth (and largest in the world) enclosure and completing upgrades to their Bear Holding facility.  The approximately 1.4 million dollar expansion was courtesy of NOHFC, FedNor and the Town of Cochrane.