Published: 10 January, 2008, 23:11
Edited: 10 January, 2008, 23:11
A polar bear cub in a German zoo has been taken away from its mother amid fears the newborn could be harmed or even killed. Several zookeepers are now looking after the cub, believed to be female, feeding her rich milk every two or three hours.
The tiny cub is sharing her compartment with a soft toy – the only bear that will be her company for some time.
The decision to hand-rear the baby bear was taken after Vera, its mother, was seen carrying her cub around their enclosure in her jaws, regularly dropping it.
The Nuremberg zoo lost two cubs not long ago when a mother behaving in a similar way ate her offspring.