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BERLIN — Never mind the burly polar bear Knut, here's the cute new cub Flocke. With all the fanfare of a movie premiere or record release, Nuremberg city and zoo officials on Tuesday introduced Germany's latest winsome polar bear cub to a public eager for its first live glimpse of her.
The furry 4-month-old imp has been tugging at their heartstrings by video and photograph for months.
"Not only Nuremberg, but the whole world has been in Flocke fever," said the city's deputy mayor Horst Foerther. He said the cub has attracted millions of hits on Google since the zoo decided to raise her by hand in January.
In her afternoon debut before television cameras, the chubby bear had to be coaxed out into the polar bear enclosure, then slowly nosed around the rocks and grass with the curiosity of a toddler — keeping close to the zookeeper with her.
But she quickly gained confidence, eventually bounding through the grass and plunging into the water; paddling about for a few minutes before climbing out to nibble on the zookeeper's shoe to the delight of the television reporters providing commentary for the national live broadcast of the event.
Flocke, born Dec. 11 and then rejected by her mother, made her public debut at the Nuremberg zoo just as interest in the Berlin zoo's now fully grown polar bear sensation, Knut, seems to be waning.
Knut was abandoned by his own mother in 2006 and was raised by zookeepers. He became something of a Berlin zoo franchise, attracting more than a million visitors and inspiring a stuffed-animal, a Vanity Fair cover with Leonardo DiCaprio, a children's book and even a feature film.
But Knut has gone from roly-poly and cute to chunky and a little dangerous — a transition not lost on Flocke's keepers who advertised her introduction to the public with posters reading "Knut was yesterday."
Flocke — German for "Flake," as in snowflake — was taken from her mother, Vera, Jan. 8 for hand-rearing after Vera was seen tossing the cub around her enclosure.
Aware of Knut's star power, the zoo quickly set up its own polar bear cub Web site with regular updates — Flocke is a girl; Flocke's eyes open; Flocke learns to swim; Flocke walks on grass, for example — accompanied with photos and video for her adoring fans.
Now about 19 kilograms (42 pounds), Flocke has been romping around in a private enclosure but will be put on public display starting Wednesday.
Zoo director Dag Encke implored people on Tuesday to use the interest in Flocke to force action on climate change, which is affecting the habitat of wild polar bears.
In that sense, Encke said at a nationally televised news conference with some 430 reporters, "Flocke is no more a polar bear, but Flocke is not a person — Flocke is an obligation, or a window into an obligation," he said.
As Flocke bounded about in Nuremberg, Knut lolled about lazily in Berlin as the occasional visitor snapped a picture.
Still, it was clear that Knut retained some of the animal magnetism that made him a celebrity.
"Knut has the advantage of being a media star: He was the first," said teacher Ulrike Robel who had taken her class to see the 150 kilogram (330 pound) bear. "Flocke is sweet, but she's No. 2. I think that matters."
Detlef Untermann, spokesman for the Berlin zoo, said there's room enough for both bears.
"It's clear that people like it cute, small, cuddly and white; button eyes, button nose — it's OK that way and Nuremberg can enjoy the attention of the public now," he said. "The Berlin zoo is not envious in any way, and Knut doesn't begrudge them either; he's been brought up quite well."
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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{"commentId":1668116,"authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
Flocke — German for "Flake," as in snowflake — was taken from her mother, Vera, Jan. 8 for hand-rearing after Vera was seen tossing the cub around her enclosure.
Awwe, I'm good on today's cute quota after this. What's the German for "Flake," as in everyone is going to flake out on this adorable fuzzball as soon as she hits puberty?
{"commentId":1668116,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
- 2 votes
#1 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 11:14 AM EDT{"commentId":1668125,"authorDomain":"bluemutiny"}
Oh. My. GOD.
:D
LAUHAL I WANT IT!!!!!!!!
{"commentId":1668125,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"bluemutiny"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 11:15 AM EDT{"commentId":1668394,"authorDomain":"jazzman646"}
yeah everyone wants a cute little polar bear...until they reach 700 lbs...and eat the family dog...
{"commentId":1668394,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"jazzman646"}
- 3 votes
#3 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 12:23 PM EDT{"commentId":1668638,"authorDomain":"DanLS"}
This is NOT front page news! Polar Bear Cub Flocke Makes Debut? Come on....
{"commentId":1668638,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"DanLS"}
- 2 votes
#4 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 1:24 PM EDT{"commentId":1668949,"authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
Obviously a slow day on the campaign trail. Don't worry, guys, nothing important is happening today. :)
{"commentId":1668949,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1668659,"authorDomain":"ccreyes"}
This little polar bear is absolutely adorable. However, like everyone above me stated, it will grow up and not be so cute anymore. What I find interesting is the amount of hype that this polar bear received. It's just a bear!! I don't get it. I know that this seems heartless, but had the zookeepers not been there, this little cub probably wouldn't have survived, since it's mother rejected it. Obviously, if the mother rejected it, there was a reason. Survival of the fittest. but we, as humans, can't seem to grasp that concept. Granted, if I had been the zookeeper at the time I would have take the cub in too. But this concept seems to be something that we can't understand. We learn about it all the time, yet can't bear the thought of it being applied to living things in the world. Personally I find that odd.
It will be really interesting to see how quickly the hype dies down as soon as another adorable little animal is publicized. But until then, this little cub seems to be the best thing ever.
{"commentId":1668659,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"ccreyes"}
- 1 vote
#5 - Tue Apr 8, 2008 1:30 PM EDT{"commentId":1679981,"authorDomain":"jjjjj"}
This little bear is more important than you think...by raising awareness about this majestic species, we are helping more people also become aware of the crisis they are facing due to global warming. Their natural habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate, and we as a planet, not just the US, need to do something to stop it! The more attention this little bear receives, hopefully the more people will be interested in ways they can help others like her.
{"commentId":1679981,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"jjjjj"}
{"commentId":1680452,"authorDomain":"hnd123"}
Unfortunately, those people who view Flocke as "just a bear," are probably in the majority. Polar bears are on the endangered list because the polar ice caps are melting. The polar ice caps are melting because of humans. Will you then say "What's the big deal?" It's just a human," when the sea rises and begins to take coastline for hundreds of miles inland? Just think of how cozy humans can become when they are overcrowded because land disappears. The people who cannot understand how we are all connected on this earth are the ones who will be responsible for the extinction of the human race. Maybe it's just as well... the earth will survive in much better condition after humans disappear.
{"commentId":1680452,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"hnd123"}
{"commentId":1680487,"authorDomain":"arerear"}
Boo, hoo, hoo. They're maneaters, who cares.
{"commentId":1680487,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"arerear"}
{"commentId":1681201,"authorDomain":"KBs"}
Amen, HIND. Blessing to you.
{"commentId":1681201,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"KBs"}
{"commentId":1668876,"authorDomain":"winsomecowboy"}
{"commentId":1672479,"authorDomain":"florutman"}
I was reading my daily paper and it seems that the news in general is all bad. It was refreshing to see the article on Flocke so that we could smile a little.
{"commentId":1672479,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"florutman"}
#7 - Wed Apr 9, 2008 12:45 PM EDT{"commentId":1681154,"authorDomain":"KBs"}
How very sad, and cold, the comment about survival of the fittest. What you don't seem to realize is that at the rate this world is going you may very well be in this situation sooner than you think yourself. In fact you along with the rest of us already are. Do you not realize what is going on in this world of ours, now the polar bears are an endangered species along with so many other animals. Don't be so arrogant, to think we can not join the list. Things are pretty bad right now, wake up, it really could be you on the list in no time flat. And if the fittest do not start to take care of the underlings, then who will take care of you/us, because whether we want to admit it or not, we all need help one way or the other at some point and time. Mother nature handles the survival of the fittest scenario in the animal kingdom, but us supposedly "more" intelligent animals need to get over that ugly way of thinking and start looking out for one another. We all need to care and pitch in. And no I'm not just flapping my jaw/fingers I do what I pearch. I don't like to sound mean but I am so sick of hearing that kind of thinking.
{"commentId":1681154,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"KBs"}
#8 - Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:32 PM EDT{"commentId":1682186,"authorDomain":"cali-lb"}
Flocke represents the polar bears in jeopardy in the world and that makes her more than just a bear. Is she World News like some of the things going on now? No. She is something to make us smile and think about what it might be like without any of them in the wild much less the zoo. Her mother seemed to think she was a soccer ball to be picked up and tossed. Rejection? I think that indicated that the mother didn't know what she was exactly and that is one of the sad things about captive animals. Of course none of them should be captive but without this there would be no chance of putting them back in the wild if it ever came to that. All zoos have plans for certain species regarding repopulation. Of course we can't put the polar bear back if their habitat is gone so we have to stop that from happening or slow it down. When you see Flocke or Knut or any polar bear that is what you should remember.
{"commentId":1682186,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"cali-lb"}
#9 - Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:22 PM EDT{"commentId":1755382,"authorDomain":"djsnewyork"}
what if we were put on earth to take care of the animals rather than use them, shoot them, eat them...
{"commentId":1755382,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"djsnewyork"}
#10 - Thu May 1, 2008 3:04 PM EDT{"commentId":1756848,"authorDomain":"bluemutiny"}
Well 1) that uses the God theory, that we were actually put there,
and 2) without us animals would be a billion% better off than what the are now..
{"commentId":1756848,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"bluemutiny"}
{"commentId":2739738,"authorDomain":"candij"}
Well Robbie Lawrence, does using the"God Theory" Make something automatically wrong? Think about it, Would you rather believe in God, and find out you were wrong, or deny his existence and sovereignty, and find out you were wrong? Yes, I agree with the person who say God put us here to take care of other species, not to destroy them. While captivity is not the ideal, it is sometimes necessary to carry out that responsibility in our now imperfect world. As for the survival of the fittest club, did it ever occur to them that the fitness of the baby may not be in question, rather, the fitness of the mother to be a mother, probably related to those captivity issues, so we cannot assume a rejected or abused baby is not fit to survive. It makes much more sense to assume that the facts of captivity have made the mother unfit to care for her baby, and that we do indeed, as the authors of t hat captivity, have a responsibility to then assist in the care of her baby. Species were created to love one another. The fear and danger is caused by living in a sinful world. Occasionally we get a glimpse into the once perfect relationship between man and other creatures. I stand in awe whenever I get such a glimpse, and little Flocke is no exception. She is beautiful, and her love for her caretakers is precious.
{"commentId":2739738,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"candij"}
#11 - Wed Sep 3, 2008 9:19 PM EDT{"commentId":2818849,"authorDomain":"p-outlaw"}
Survival of the fittest?!!! The most disturbing concept is that the species that is supposed to be so superior in intelligence cannot even get the fact that we need the earth and the animals to survive. We are destroying both at an accelerated rate. You see the earth and the animals (except for the poor creatures we domesticate) can survive without us. WE CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT THE EARTH AND THE ANIMALS. Even if you are a vegan you still need the animals for fertilization. We are so arrogant as humans that we think we don't need anything. We are the most pathetic of species. We are the only species that kills for pleasure, the only species too stupid to not take care of the very things that sustain us and the only species too stupid and arrogant to not give credence to a higher power. That precious little baby represents so much more than "just a bear". What we do to one we do to all. Unless we wake up and start putting our priorities in order (and making a buck at the expense of everything else is not first), we are going to know what the fate of other species feels like. Personally I think there is no one more deserving than human kind of such horror.
{"commentId":2818849,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"p-outlaw"}
#12 - Mon Sep 8, 2008 1:04 PM EDT{"commentId":7486861,"authorDomain":"anon081309"}
yeah they're really cute, until they unscrew your head from your body. Just ask that dude from Grizzly Man.
{"commentId":7486861,"threadId":"247062","contentId":"1417962","authorDomain":"anon081309"}
#13 - Fri Jun 5, 2009 4:38 PM EDT{"commentId":10405379,"authorDomain":"breelaboy"}
{"commentId":10431684,"authorDomain":"brianalampton"}
{"commentId":10431709,"authorDomain":"brianalampton"}
{"commentId":10431738,"authorDomain":"brianalampton"}
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