ASHEBORO -- The North Carolina Zoo will soon be welcoming Patches, a 25-year-old female polar bear, who will be making her way from a zoo in Erie, Pennsylvania. Zoo spokesperson Rod Hackney says they are thrilled to have Patches, but are still looking for additional bears.

Hackney added, "We're still in the process of working with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Marine Fishery Service. To see if we can't obtain at least several more bears, by the time we open that new exhibit in the late summer of 2014."

The NC Zoo is set to unveil a multi-million dollar renovation to the polar bear exhibit in the summer of 2014.

This addition comes after the deaths of two polar bears with connections to Asheboro since September.