Reuters was given exclusive access to film Laerke being checked from nose to tail during the hour-long exam. She also had her ears cleaned, which veterinary staff joked was like “spa treatment”.

Laerke, 3, a polar bear cub who lives at Point Defiance Zoom & Aquarium, receives a battery of tests from Head Veterinarian Karen Wolf during an annual medical exam on March 26, 2024, in Tacoma, Washington. (REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight)

“It’s just incredible to get hands on a polar bear, there are so few of them. They are really charismatic animals and really need our support for saving them from extinction and preventing them from the effects of climate change,” said Wolf.

As warming in the Arctic has threatened the traditional habitat of polar bears, who rely on sea ice to hunt seals, the animals are spending more time on land, causing them hunger and threatening their numbers.

Point Defiance Zoo’s Rocky Shore & Tundra Assistant Curator Sheriden Ploof said zoos can be crucial in educating the public about the risk that climate change poses to wildlife.

“I think zoos play a really important role in conservation. It’s not enough for us just to have these girls here just to display them. We need to be working towards conserving their species and teaching people about climate change,” she said.