Sponsored by National City PITTSBURGH, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharpen your pencils and put on your Arctic thinking caps! Polar bears are back at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and National City is providing the opportunity to name them. Entering the contest is easy. Participants can log on to http://www.nationalcity.com/polarbear and complete a contest form, or stop by any National City branch and pick up a form. Two names for each entry will be accepted, one for each of the bears. All entries must be received by Friday, November 10. The winners will be announced at a press conference and will receive a special behind-the-scenes tour at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Todd C. Moules, president and CEO for National City in Pennsylvania said, "We are delighted to participate in naming the polar bears, our region's two new attractions. National City enjoys a tradition of contributing to organizations that make a difference in our communities and add a special vibrancy and quality of life to our hometown region of Western Pennsylvania. As such, we have supported the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium for more than a decade. The naming contest is a creative way to add to the legacy of our zoo and welcome the bears back to our region." Our new polar bears are brothers, born at the Denver Zoo on Thanksgiving Day, 2004. They are 22-months-old. Keeper Mark McDonough says you can see their personalities developing. Both love to play with their toys and they aren't big on sharing right now. Water's Edge is an exciting journey into the Arctic, the home of polar bears. As visitors exit the PPG Aquarium, they will be immediately transported into a world where native Inuit tales tell the story of man and polar bear existing side-by-side in a land covered by ice and snow. Large viewing windows will enable visitors to go paw to hand with the bears as they relax and cool off in their air-conditioned polar bear den, and swim and play in their cool saltwater swimming pool. Interactive props challenge visitors to consider their daily actions and how they affect the polar bears' habitat and our own environment as well. Polar Bears are Back! Welcome them by participating in the National City "Name Pittsburgh's New Polar Bear contest." Some Polar Bear Fun Facts: The new polar bears at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium are brothers. They were born on November 25, 2004. Polar bears are the most ferocious animal in the animal kingdom. Male polar bears can grow to 10-feet-tall and weigh nearly 1,500 pounds. Polar bears are great swimmers and can swim 60 to 70 miles without stopping. Polar bears in the wild hunt and eat seals. Polar bears can have up to four inches of blubber. Polar bears are found in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway. A polar bear's skin is black and the fur is clear. Baby polar bears are born blind, toothless, and completely dependent on their mother for food. The word Arctic comes from a Greek word, meaning bear. The Latin name for polar bears is Ursis maritimus, which means "a bear of the sea". Polar bears like to dig. The Inuit people share their living environment with polar bears and live in all of the same geographic areas. The Inuit believe that the survival of man is directly correlated to the survival of bears. There is an Inuit legend claiming that bears are actually people who wear fur coats. DATASOURCE: Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium CONTACT: Tracy Gray of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, +1-412-365-2538; or Bill Eiler, National City Media Relations, +1-412-644-8073 Web site: http://www.nationalcity.com/polarbear http://www.nationalcity.com/

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