The San Diego Zoo, in conjunction with Polar Bears International (PBI), is giving one motivated local high school student the opportunity to work with leading researchers studying polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba this October.

The PBI Polar Bear Science Camp is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity only offered to a few select students worldwide � nine students from four different countries � giving them a chance to spend a week in the wild working side-by-side with researchers. The goal of the camp is to ignite interest in polar bears, inspire and further the growth of a new generation of scientists. Twenty-five ambitious students who are activity involved in the San Diego Zoo�s education programs were hand-selected to apply for the program. The applicants wrote inspiring essays expressing their interest in polar bears, conservation and why they would make an ideal candidate. A rigorous selection process recently concluded with one outstanding student, Michael Kranz, a junior at La Jolla High School selected as the Zoo�s representative.

Beginning Oct. 9, Kranz, along with two other US students, four Canadian, one European and one Australian student, will begin an intensive five-day educational and working adventure in Churchill. They will spend three days assisting with polar bear research projects on a Tundra Buggy�, one day learning about Conservation Manitoba�s Polar Bear Alert Program, and one day traveling by helicopter with Parks Canada to visit and learn about the polar bear maternity dens in the Churchill area.

To prepare Kranz for the adventure, San Diego Zoo polar bear keepers will work with him in advance � offering a unique behind the scenes opportunity at the Zoo�s Polar Bear Plunge habitat to learn more about animal research and care. Kranz may even take part in polar bear enrichment activities.

In addition, during the students' stay in Churchill they will serve as on-air hosts during live broadcasts to Zoos and classrooms around the country, sharing their impressions and experience with other kids. All the science camp students will be posting daily journal entries on the PBI website www.polarbearsinternational.org, and Kranz will be sending daily updates about his adventure to the San Diego Zoo�s Web site www.sandiegozoo.org. In Kranz�s winning essay he stated his desire to become an exotic animal veterinarian and the need to become a caretaker of the Earth and not just a taker. The San Diego Zoo and Polar Bears International are hoping this experience will lead him one step closer to that goal. The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe. The Zoological Society also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo�s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) and the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), and is working to establish field stations in five key ecological areas worldwide.

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Media Contact: Paul Garcia +1 619-685-3291 pgarcia@sandiegozoo.org