Watch playful baby polar bear test its wobbly legs and explore new home at German zoo

Aspen Pflughoeft
·2 min read

A small, fluffy and adorable polar bear cub wandered around its new home in Germany. Video shows the playful Arctic animal for the first time.

The baby polar bear was born Dec. 19 at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, but the birth was not announced until April 27, according to a news release from the Hagenbeck Zoo.

Polar bear cubs are incredibly vulnerable for their first few days, the zoo explained. These massive bears weigh about two pounds at birth, are nearly hairless and barely able to see and hear, according to the zoo. The newborn cub and its mother, Victoria, were left undisturbed in their den for several months.

Now, at not quite five months old, the cub is endearingly curious and lively, video shared by the zoo on Facebook shows.

Video shows the baby bear hiding behind its mother’s arm, rubbing against her and crawling around her. Another clip shows it biting a stick then play-biting its mom, even hanging on the scruff of her neck.

Wandering toward the doorway of the den, the cub stands up against the doorframe, wobbling slightly on its small legs. In another clip, it spins in circles while pawing at a piece of a tree stump. The cub was also seen splashing in the water.

This small bundle of energy is the first polar bear cub born at the Hagenbeck Zoo in 21 years, the release said. The last polar bear born at the zoo was Victoria — who is now a caring and thriving first-time mother.

The baby polar bear resting on its mother’s paw.
The baby polar bear resting on its mother’s paw.

Zoo officials praised the second-generation birth as a success for breeding efforts to help save this endangered species, the release said.

Zookeepers have not set a timeline for when the cub will go on public display. In the meantime, they will move the father polar bear out of the exhibit and set up a camera in the den.

Hamburg is about 180 miles northwest of Berlin.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Hagenbeck Zoo. Facebook Translate and Google Translate were used to translate the Facebook post from the Hagenbeck Zoo.

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