UK's first polar bear cub in 25 years born at Scottish park Published duration 3 January 2018

media caption UK's first polar bear cub in 25 years born in Highlands

A female polar bear at a Scottish animal park has given birth to a cub, says the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. (RZSS).

It is the first polar bear to be born in the UK in 25 years.

The mother bear, Victoria, is one of three adult polar bears at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, near Aviemore.

RZSS said "high-pitched noises" made by the cub could be heard from Victoria's maternity den just before Christmas.

The last polar bear cubs born in the UK were twins at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire on 8 December 1992.

Arktos, the male bear Victoria mated with, is one of the park's other adult bears. He is in a separate enclosure from the female bear.

Victoria's enclosure is closed to the public.

media caption The sound of a newly-born polar bear cub

Una Richardson, the park's head keeper responsible for carnivores, said: "We first heard promising noises in the week before Christmas and these have now continued into the new year.

"Because we don't have sight inside her cubbing box we can't be sure if Victoria has had more than one cub, but we can confirm the birth.

"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."

image copyright Alex Riddell image caption Victoria was brought to the Highland Wildlife Park, which also has two male bears, last year

image caption The park's male polar bears Arktos, left, and Walker

She added: "We will continue to monitor Victoria and very much hope for the best possible news when she emerges around March.

"Until then, Victoria's enclosure will be closed to the public and keeper activity will be at a minimum to give her offspring every chance of survival."

Wildlife conservation group Born Free has criticised the keeping of polar bears in zoos, saying the animals are "ill-suited" to zoo environments.

Its president, Will Travers, said: "At a time when the zoo community should be phasing out the keeping of polar bears in captivity, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has decided to row against the tide.

"From a welfare point of view, the enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park may be significantly better than the blue-rinse concrete pits that people so often associate with polar bears in zoos, but we contend that our efforts on behalf of this species should be focused on mitigating the impacts of human-induced climate change and securing the species in the wild, not subjecting another polar bear to a lifetime in captivity."

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