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'Barle the polar bear' rescued from sweltering Mexican circus act

A Manitoba couple was shocked to discover polar bears in performance at a sweltering Mexican circus show. We hear the story of Barle the polar bear and her return from a southern circus to the snowy north....
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The Current24:57'Barle the polar bear' rescued from sweltering Mexican circus act - Dec 5, 2014
A Manitoba couple was shocked to discover polar bears in performance at a sweltering Mexican circus show. We hear the story of Barle the polar bear and her return from a southern circus to the snowy north.

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Else Poulsen and Barle during their first encounter at the Detroit airport.

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Photos courtesy of Greystone Books.

For 13 years, Barle was one of the star attractions at a circus that travelled through Mexico and the Caribbean. It was 13 years of blistering heat for a bear that was likely born in the world's very snowy polar bear capital of Churchill, Manitoba.

The unlikely story of her rescue and rehabilitation is told in Barle's Story: One Polar Bear's Amazing Recovery from Life as a Circus Act. The author, Else Poulsen, is an international bear behaviour expert who has spent more than a quarter of a century working with wild and captive bears.

Else Poulsen joined us from Hamilton, Ontario to share Barle's story.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Michael O'Halloran.

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