Siku Is Now A Big Brother!
After seven years of waiting at Scandinavian Wildlife Park at Kolind in Denmark, the polar bears have finally succeeded in having twins.
The female polar bear, Ilka, gave birth to twins on November 21th, 2012. The cubs are now eight weeks old and thriving. “It’s wonderful that Ilka is finally succeeding in rearing a pair of cubs. Her maternal instincts are very strong and she is taking perfect care of her cubs. It’s incredibly wonderful to see,” says Director Frank Vigh-Larsen.
Help with Milk Production
Ilka has lost cubs before because she couldn’t produce milk. This problem led to the polar bear cub, Siku, being hand-reared by staff at the wildlife park. Siku has since become world famous and is now using this fame as an ambassador for wild polar bears, communicating the need to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to save arctic sea ice.
“When Ilka gave birth this time, we were prepared that there might be problems with her milk production. We therefore tried stimulating her milk production with medicine, and it worked,” explains Frank Vigh-Larsen. “It’s the first time in the world that this has succeeded, so we are just euphoric.”
The Twins Are Doing Fine
The polar bear twins remaining with Ilka are thriving. The staff in the wildlife park can follow the cubs as they are growing big and strong via a live video feed from the den. The twins have opened their eyes and they are moving around in the den, while Ilka is patiently keeping an eye on the two balls of fur.
When Scandinavian Wildlife Park opens for the season on April 26th 2013, guests will be able to see the twins playing in the huge polar bear enclosure, which covers a total of 2,6 hectares.
