News in Easy English: Polar bear twin cubs meet public at Sendai zoo
SENDAI -- Twin polar bear cubs born at Yagiyama Zoological Park last December met news reporters on May 28. The cubs met zoo visitors for the first time on June 2.
At the zoo, the cubs played happily together and stayed close to their mother, Paula.
Paula and Kai, both 20 years old, are the cubs' parents. The zoo wanted them to have babies for a long time. Paula had other babies in the past, but sadly they died.
The twins were born on Dec. 20, 2024, and now weigh about 30 kilograms each. Head trainer Fumitoshi Miura said, "I'm really glad they are doing well."
Visitors can see the twin cubs from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. on zoo open days. People can line up until 10:30 a.m., but on very busy days the zoo might close the line sooner.
Zoo visitors can also help choose names for the cubs. They can vote at the zoo's visitor center and at Fujisaki department store from June 2 to June 17.
(Japanese original by Hiroyuki Yamanaka, Matsuyama Bureau)
Vocabulary
cub: the baby of a bear, lion, and some other animals
polar bear: a big white bear that lives in cold places
trainer: a person who takes care of animals at the zoo
visitor center: a building in a zoo or park with information for visitors
department store: a large store that sells many different things
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