Scottish Polar Bear Born-

First Few Months Critical

The cries of the first polar bear cub to be born in Britain in 25 years were heard at the Highland Wildlife Park on December 18th and its mother Victoria is currently doing well. But the  early period of newborn polar bears is a fraught time. Newly birthed cubs are blind and weigh little more than a guinea pig.  At one month old they are able to open their eyes, but being so small with a huge mother is a problem. They need mum’s fat-rich milk to grow quickly to a safe weight. When they are about 12 kilos they are big enough to leave the den.

Emerging in February or March

Celebrations were muted because of the high mortality of polar bear cubs in this early period as new bear mums are very easily stressed and need high levels of privacy and quiet. The new cubs are highly susceptible to infection too and so it’s keep away for all but essential keepers. The keepers don’t even know if it is a twin because mother Victoria broke a small CCTV camera that keeps an eye of the bears in the den. Polar bears often have twins it seems. And no will know for sure until Victoria decides to show her new cub, or cubs, to the world sometime in February or March when feeding for the bear resumes after a winter break to mimic conditions in the wild. If the cub lives it will become an instant star at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park and may spark an interest in climate change awareness.

Scottish Hopes

It is fingers crossed here for the littlest polar bear and we hope that it helps increase knowledge about the plight of polar bears in the wild. But here at James Pirie we take great care to be sustainable and want the world to know about the wares of Scotland and the nation’s great heritage. Caithness Glass is a fine example of local production and how about this lovely Flower of Scotland paperweight and it’s reduced.

https://www.jamespirie.com/brands/caithness/flower-of-scotland.html