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The new Knut

Zoo officials in Nuremberg announced Wednesday that Germany's new polar bear cub is probably a female. The cub's eyes are not yet open and its sexual organs not completely developed, so there's still a chance she could be a he, the Nuremberg zoo's deputy director Helmut Maegdefrau told reporters.

But the yet-unnamed 4-week-old cub - taken from its mother, Vera, on Tuesday amid concerns she could harm or even kill the newborn - is "lively, strong and well-fed," Maegdefrau said.

Four keepers are caring for the baby bear, who weighed in at 3.75 pounds, feeding it high-fat milk every four hours. "So far, it can only crawl a little," Maegdefrau said, noting that the cub does little more at the moment than sleep.

Another polar bear at Nuremberg, Vilma, gave birth around the same time as Vera but is believed to have killed and eaten her cubs earlier this week because they were sick.

The new cub will not be returned to its mother out of fear that Vera might eat it. The controversial decision to hand raise the cub was made after Vera was seen carrying the cub around the enclosure in her jaws.

Source


There are more photos of the cub and mom Vera at The Daily Mail.