Winnipeg zoo's newest orphaned polar bear cub now has a name: Mantayo
Name is derived from Mantay-sîpî, the Cree name for the Churchill River
asserted
Name → orphan → River
The first polar bear cub to arrive at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo in nearly a decade now has a name.
asserted
cub → arrive → name
The bear, believed to be about 10 or 11 months old, is now called Mantayo, zoo officials announced via social media posts on Thursday.
asserted
officials → believe → Thursday
It's derived from Mantay-sîpî, the Cree name for the Churchill River, which literally translates to "river of strangers."
asserted
which → derive → strangers
"It feels like the [name] most connected to the north in a lot of ways.
asserted
It → feel → ways
So I think it's a really good choice," Lindsay Hughes, a spokesperson for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, said Friday.
asserted
Hughes → think → Conservancy
Mantayo arrived in late August, shortly after being found near his dead mother just outside Churchill.
asserted
Mantayo → arrive → Churchill
Mantayo's name was chosen in a public poll from a list that also included Duke, Marly, and Fletcher — all names related to places in or near Churchill.
asserted
that → choose → Churchill
They were shortlisted by students from Churchill's Duke of Marlborough School and other town residents.
asserted
They → shortlist → School
"Duke" and "Marly" honoured the school, while "Fletcher" was a nod to Fletcher Lake in Wapusk National Park.
asserted
Fletcher → honour → Park
Over 12,000 votes were cast in an online poll to name the bear — "the highest number that we've really ever seen in one of our naming polls," said Hughes, noting such polls typically get about 5,000 votes.
asserted
polls → cast → votes
The public can see Mantayo in the zoo's old bear enclosures, at the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.
asserted
public → see → Centre
Staff will decide if he can move into the zoo's Journey to Churchill exhibit.
asserted
he → decide → exhibit
Mantayo arrived in late August, shortly after being found near his dead mother just outside Churchill.
asserted
Mantayo → arrive → Churchill
The province is still investigating how she died.
asserted
she → investigate → ?
He underwent a quarantine period at the zoo's Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre, where his care team has been building his trust, helping him adjust to his new home and being around people, Hughes said.
asserted
Hughes → undergo → people
Mantayo made his public debut last week but remains at the Leatherdale's cub care centre, on view in the zoo's old bear enclosures.
"He is going to stay there for a little while.
asserted
He → make → while
He's still at a point where he has growing to do before he can meet big, grown bears," Hughes said.
asserted
Hughes → have → bears
Since the zoo underwent a massive renovation, replacing those old enclosures with the Journey to Churchill exhibit and the Leatherdale centre, it has welcomed 12 bears.
asserted
it → undergo → bears
The majority were found orphaned in northern Manitoba, although brothers Hudson and Humphrey were born in captivity in Toronto, and later returned to that zoo.
asserted
Hudson → find → zoo
The only others that were not orphans were Storm — who was shipped out of Churchill after attacking a man and arrived in 2013 as a three-year-old adult — and Agee, who came to the zoo from British Columbia in 2022 as a 26-year-old retired film star.
asserted
who → ship → star
She died in 2025.
asserted
She → die → 2025
Two other orphaned bears from Manitoba, Baffin and Siku, were transferred to the Calgary Zoo in 2023 after being in Winnipeg for six years.
asserted
bears → orphan → years
Baffin died in 2024 after some roughhousing with Siku crushed his trachea.
asserted
roughhousing → die → trachea
Transition needs to be 'carefully managed'
asserted
Transition → need → ?
"The hope is that one day [Mantayo] will be able to move in, but there's a lot of decisions to be made about which bears he might meet first and who's the best fit for him," Hughes said.
uncertain
Hughes → move → him
"That transition process is super, super carefully managed, so we're just taking it one day at a time at this point.
asserted
we → manage → point
"
The conservation team has researched polar bear personalities, which helps identify which might be the best for Mantayo's initial greeting, she said.
uncertain
she → research → greeting
Polar bears are also naturally solitary animals that come together only for breeding and when the mothers are raising cubs, so "introducing polar bears is not an easy process," Hughes said.
asserted
Hughes → come → bears
Another bear, Star — who arrived with her brother Blizzard in 2014 — never took to group life and now lives at the Leatherdale centre, where visitors can see her in one of the old bear enclosures.
asserted
visitors → arrive → enclosures
"She really showed a bit more of an independent lifestyle … and demonstrated she was not necessarily comfortable in that space with the big bears," Hughes said.
asserted
Hughes → show → bears
"So the decision was made back in 2018 that she would be better off on her own with an independent home."
asserted
she → make → home
Blizzard lived with the large group of bears until his death in 2019.
asserted
Blizzard → live → 2019
Hudson, who was born at the Toronto Zoo in 2011 but was rejected by his mother, was the first bear to call the Journey to Churchill exhibit home.
asserted
who → bear → exhibit
He arrived in 2013, before it was open to the public.
asserted
it → arrive → public
Humphrey followed in 2015.
asserted
Humphrey → follow → 2015
Aurora was the first orphaned polar bear cub to live there.
asserted
Aurora → orphan → ?
She arrived shortly after Hudson and died in 2022 following a dental procedure.
asserted
She → arrive → procedure
The Aporia
