Hamburg's polar bear cub has first big day out

It was a minor sensation when 21-year-old polar bear Victoria gave birth to her cuddly cub at Hamburg's Tierpark Hagenbeck in December 2022. Now the time has finally come when the little creature can explore the outdoor enclosure together with her mother for the first time.

Cautiously but curiously, the little female cub follows her mother over the hilly terrain. Though the 6-month-old is already a whopping 40 kilograms (88 pounds), she has yet to be named. But zoo visitors were allowed to weigh in last month, voting for one of four options: Anouk, Talvi, Smilla and Sunflower.

The little cub was curious about zoo spectators, who were delighted to witness her first outing. Her mother, Victoria, was also born at the zoo in 2002. Until the birth of her daughter she was the last female polar bear to be born at Tierpark Hagenbeck. Critically endangered, there are only around 25,000 polar bears left in the wild.

Still a bit apprehensive, the cub couldn’t seem to decide whether she wanted to venture into deeper water in her enclosure’s “sea of ice.” When she finally dared to take a quick dip, she quickly hopped back out to safety on the rocks.

The young polar bear was introduced to water in June, though it was inside her enclosure, shown here. "For the further development of a young animal it is optimal to now have more variety in everyday life and learn a lot through the new experiences in the outdoor enclosure," veterinarian Michael Flügger said.

In the wild, such a short distance between a polar bear mother and her cub without safety glass would certainly be less tolerable for the animals. Even with glass, mama Victoria eyes spectators carefully. She will continue to nurse her daughter for about two years, never leaving her side.

After the exhilarating excursion, the little cub fell asleep on her mother's paws. She hasn’t met her father, Kap, who was on "loan" from the Karlsruhe Zoo, where he was returned after a harmonious three-year relationship with Victoria.