Polar Bears Seriku and Milka Mark 13th Birthday with Festive Feast

Perm Zoo congratulated a pair of polar bears — Milka and Seriku — on their birthday. Staff shared a cute video with the animals and told the story of how the bears came to them.

Male Seriku and female Milka celebrated their 13th birthday this week. They were born one day apart: Seriku on December 15, and Milka on the 16th. Perm Zoo staff prepared a festive ‘table’ of fish for the birthday bears. The bears were delighted with the gift: they started running and diving in the snow.

The zoo recounted that once little Seriku lived on Bely Island with his mother. Poachers arrived, injured the cub, and killed his mother. Volunteers from an ecological expedition found the bear, but they didn«t know how to help the wounded animal. They fed the cub fish and porridge with antibiotics and waited for help.

On August 21, 2013, a veterinarian from Perm Zoo and the lead zoologist of the predatory mammals department flew by helicopter from Salekhard to the island. The cub was given a sedative, his wound was treated, and he was taken to Salekhard, and from there to Perm. The little one quickly settled into the zoo and began to recover. They decided to name him Seriku — after the main spirit and protector of Bely Island, Ser-ngo Iriko (the White Old Man or Old Man of the Ice Island).

In October of the same year, a female named Milka was brought from Kazan Zoo. The bear cubs did not become friends immediately, so they were housed in adjacent enclosures. Seriku constantly growled at Milka if she approached the bars too closely. But over time, the cubs became friends.

‘The more active and restless Milka managed to liven up the sluggish Seriku, teach him to manipulate various “toys” and enjoy it. With the arrival of spring, the pair spent a lot of time playing together in the water,’ the zoo says.

At that time, an old female bear named Amderma also lived in the zoo. She replaced Milka and Seriku«s mother: in the wild, bear cubs live with their mother until two years old, and Milka and Seriku were less than a year old when they arrived in Perm. Amderma taught the bears about life and even allowed them to play — she let them suck her ears. When Milka and Seriku grew up, they became a true pair.

‘They literally can’t live without each other and get very nervous when attempts are made to separate them,’ the zoo says. ‘Seriku is a true gentleman. He yields to Milka in everything and always, and she brazenly takes advantage of this, periodically nudging her fiancé. When live carp were released into the pool for the bears, Seriku would first procure food for Milka, and only then eat himself.’

In 2024, Milka and Seriku had a daughter named Parma. In the summer, the whole family was moved to a new zoo on Nagorny — now they live in four large enclosures with year-round pools.

Previously, Perm Zoo showed a video of unusual cat bears — these animals smell like popcorn.