Staff at Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland
confirm the birth to mother Victoria but say the first three months of life for
the new-born cub are perilous
Wed 3 Jan ‘18 10.31 GMTLast
modified on Wed 3 Jan ‘18 22.00 GMT
The first polar bear cub to be born in
Britain for 25 years is being cared for in a private den by its mother,
Victoria, at the Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland.
Staff at the Royal Zoological Society of
Scotland (RZSS) park confirmed the birth after hearing distinct high-pitched
sounds from Victoria’s maternity unit, which remains closed to visitors to
ensure privacy.
The news of the birth comes 24 hours after a
polar bear cub at a Berlin zoo died aged 26
days, and the
RZSS admitted that the first three months would be perilous for the newborn
polar bear.
Una Richardson, the park’s head keeper
responsible for carnivores, said: “While we are absolutely thrilled, we are not
celebrating prematurely as polar bear cubs have a high mortality rate in the
first weeks of life due to their undeveloped immune system and the mother’s
exaggerated need for privacy, with any disturbance risking the cub being killed
or abandoned.”
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