Manitoba moves to add polar bear to list of official provincial emblems

Manitoba is taking steps to give the world'sthe largest living land carnivore a new status in the province.

The government hasintroduced legislation to designate the polar bear as an official provincial emblem, Premier Kelvin Goertzen announced Friday in a news release.

Recognizing the polar bear as an official symbol would help build on the province's brand as the polar bear capital of the worldand a must-see, one-of-a-kind tourism attraction for visitors of all ages, he said in the release.

If the legislation is approved, thenorthern white bear would become the second official mammalian emblem of Manitoba, alongside theNorth American plains bison and the ninth official emblem overall.

The other official natural emblems for Manitoba are:

• Floral emblem prairie crocus.
• Fossil emblemmosasaur.
• Avian emblem great grey owl.
• Arboreal emblem white spruce.
• Soil orthic black chernozem(Newdale soil).
• Fishemblem walleye.
• Mammal emblem plains bison.
• Grass emblem big bluestem.

The polar bear has long been associated with Manitoba, which is home to oneof the world's largest known maternity denning areas,located in Wapusk National Parkon the shores of Hudson Bay.

The bears have also made Wapusk's neighbour, the town of Churchill,a globally famoustourist attraction. Known as the polar bear capital of the world, Churchillis one of the few human settlements where the bears can be observed in the wild.

Manitoba is also home theLeatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre a hub for wildlife education, research, and conservation, located inside Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo.

The zoo itself is home to nine polar bears inits Journey to Churchill exhibit.