TORONTO

Grace Hart was thrilled to see her first baby polar bear as the Toronto Zoo’s latest addition was introduced to the public Friday.

“I think he is very cute and I would like to pat him,” eight-year-old Grace said. “He tried to jump up at me, then he put his face to mine through the glass. I like how he rolls in the mud.”

The three-month-old cub is the only survivor from a litter of three that was rejected by their mother at birth.

The cub weighed 700 grams at birth and needed 24-hour care.

“Polar bears are born in an immature state. It is very hard to raise them by hand from such an early stage,” said Dr. Graham Crawshaw, senior veterinarian at the zoo.

“He needed to be fed 11 times a day with a baby bottle and he had a good appetite. It is rare to raise polar bears from such a young age.”

Toronto Zoo CEO John Tracogna commended his staff’s efforts.

“This has been an interesting and challenging case for the zoo and a valiant and dedicated effort of both the Wildlife Health Centre and Wildlife Care staff,” Tracogna said.

“Ultimately, it has been a rewarding journey for everyone involved and we are happy to introduce an active and healthy polar bear cub, our new ambassador to help share our conservation message with our visitors,” he said.

There are only about 25,000 polar bears left in the wild and 60% live in Canada’s north.

“They are at risk because of global warming. They need sea ice floats for hunting and breeding and today we have 50% less of those than we had 30 years ago. This is a significant issue,” Crawshaw said.

The Zoo works closely with other organizations to ensure the survival of polar bears and are counting on this cub to help get the conservation message out.

At birth polar bears have eyes and ears that are closed, a pink nose and eyelids and feet.

Since birth the cub has been fed and artificial polar bear milk formula.

After two weeks the cub’s skin started to change from pink to black.

After 30 days the cubs eyes and ears opened and after 40 days teeth develop and staff found out he knows how to use them.

“He can have a temper and continues to surprise us. He is sociable now but that won’t last long,” Crawshaw said.

At about 90 days the cub was walking.

In the early stages the cub had a few close calls but now has constant weight growth and weighs 17kg.

The bear doesn’t have a name yet and the zoo is taking submissions on its website and Facebook page.

“If I could name him I would call him Snowball,” Grace said.