Flocke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flocke is a polar bear cub who was born in captivity at the Nuremberg Zoo in Nuremberg, Germany on December 11, 2007. Flocke ("snowflake" in German) was removed from her mother's care while a few weeks old. Despite an earlier decision to enforce a strict non-interference policy, the zoo began raising the cub by hand after her mother began exhibiting odd behavior. The zoo was also at the time receiving negative attention from the media after another of its female polar bears evidently ate her cubs.
Similar to the media attention given to Knut, a captive-born and handraised polar bear at the Berlin Zoo, Flocke has become a popular tourist attraction for the zoo since she was publicly debuted on April 8, 2008. Her name has been trademarked and she has been the subject of various toys and advertisements in the city. The zoo hopes to use Flocke as an ambassador in order to encourage awareness of climate change.
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[edit] Infancy and controversy
Flocke was born at the Nuremberg Zoo on December 11, 2007 to Vera (born 2002 in Moscow) and Felix (born 2001 in Vienna).[1] At approximately the same time, another female polar bear at the zoo, Vilma, gave birth to what was guesstimated to be two cubs; because zookeepers decided not to disturb the animals, enforcing a strict non-interference policy, it is not known exactly how many cubs were born to Vilma.[2] The zoo reportedly did not wish to create a media circus similar to the one that surrounded Knut, an orphaned polar bear in Berlin who became known worldwide as well as a financial boon to the Berlin Zoo the previous year.[3]
At the beginning of January, Vilma appeared nervous, agitatedly scratching at her feedbox, and there was no further sign of her cubs. It was believed that she ate them for reasons unknown, although zoo director Dag Encke stated at the time that they could have been ill, a circumstance under which polar bears often eat their young.[2] Even before the announcement of their deaths were made, newspaper Bild ran a story with a headline reading "Why Won't Anyone Save the Cute Baby Knuts in Nuremberg Zoo?"[4] The zoo quickly faced harsh criticism throughout Germany and from the worldwide media for seemingly allowing the death of the cubs.
Meanwhile, Vera was first seen emerging from her den; her single cub, helpless at only four weeks old, appeared to be in good health. A couple days after the initial media backlash against the zoo, Vera began displaying strange behavior such as carrying the then-unnamed cub around the enclosure and repeatedly dropping it on the hard rock floor of her enclosure. Concerned for the cub's safety, the Nuremberg Zoo made what was considered a controversial decision to remove her from her mother's care and raise her by hand.[3]
[edit] Fame
A week after Vera's cub was removed from the polar bear enclosure, the zoo held a competition to choose her name. The decision was announced on January 18, 2008 by Ulrich Maly, the mayor of Nuremberg, and broadcast live on television. Despite the overwhelming amount of e-mailed suggestions from across the world (including "Stella", "Knutschi", "Sissi" and "Yuki Chan"[5]), however, the zoo officially named her Flocke, which is German for "flake", as in "snowflake". "Flocke", which had already been used by the media in reference to the cub, was the nickname originally given to her by zookeepers because of her white fur.[6]
Flocke's growth was heavily reported by media in Germany and around the world. At five-weeks-old, she was referred to by Bild as Mrs. Knut, suggesting that the two German-born polar bears might become mates when they mature.[7] The zoo had previously stated that they were seeking another orphaned polar or brown bear cub to raise alongside Flocke in order to improve her development.[3]
As little as a week after Flocke was rescued, the city had already secured branding rights to the name "Flocke".[5] The cub's image not only has been used for games, diaries, soft toys, DVDs and postcards,[8] but her image, along with the phrase "Knut war gestern" (Knut is yesterday's bear), was used on posters for the Nuremberg metropolitan region which were displayed at numerous bus and train stops all over the city.[9] The income from the merchandise is currently going towards the zoo and to species survival programs.[8]
On April 8, 2008, Flocke made her first public appearance in the polar bear enclosure that had been vacated by Vilma, who had previously been relocated. The four-month-old cub was greeted by more than 160 journalists and a half-dozen camera crews from around the world.[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Polar Bear Flocke: The Parents. Nuremberg Online. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ a b "Polar bear 'may have eaten cubs'", BBC News, 2008-01-08. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ a b c "Polar bear cub following in star’s footsteps", 2008-01-09. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ "MUM ATE 'BABY KNUTS': German Zoo Under Fire After Polar Bear Cubs Die", Spiegel Online, 2008-01-07. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ a b Crossland, David. "Flocke gets a name and a worldwide fan club", Times Online, 2008-01-19. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ Kucharz, Christel. "Baby Polar Bear Named Flocke", ABC News, 2008-01-18. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ "German Polar Bear Cub Dubbed "Flocke"", CBS News, 2008-01-18. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- ^ a b Zoo Shop Now Open. Nuremberg Online. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
- ^ a b Kucharz, Christel. "A Star Is Born: Flocke's Big Day", ABC News, 2008-04-08. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
