Update on Siku & the Twins!

One of our cam operators, Valerie, has sent us this update on Siku, the polar bear cub that was hand-raised at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Denmark after his mother failed to produce milk. It’s a tribute to the park that Siku has grown up to be such a happy, well-adjusted bear. He lives at the park with his mother, Ilka, and his younger twin siblings, Nuno and Nanu – and the family, which you can see on the Live Cam, is growing big and playing together!

From CamOp Valerie:

This past spring Siku was integrated with his mother and two half siblings into a different and much larger exhibit. At first he was kept at bay by Ilka, his mother, from having much contact with his siblings. As time passed she now lets them all play together until their hearts, and ours, are content. Considering the dynamics of this little family it is quite interesting to watch.

A typical day on explore.org begins with all the bears lining up on the hillside awaiting fresh treats. Out of view are keepers giving a talk to fans that come from all over to visit them at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park.

The bears calmly wait for the treats to come their way, keeping a lookout for each one. It is usually a fifteen minute talk all the while the bears happily feed. The twins will chase after the treats, even diving in the smaller pond. Afterwards, the crowd and bears move to the boardwalk for more tasty treats. Here the bears jump in the large pond and swim around to gobble them up. It is so much fun watching those white heads bobbing as they swim towards the goodies. Then the real fun usually begins!

Siku and the female cub begin their water play; they spar, joust, dunk, and have a great time with each other. All under the watchful eye of Ilka, who is usually being shadowed by the young male. She usually stays out of the water and out of the way but keeps that watchful eye gazing towards the play, just in case. Sometimes the young male will join in the fun too. This can go on for at least an hour on a good day. I liken it to school children on the playground.

Then comes rest time, or maybe they hear the school bell ring and know it’s time to get out and return to Ilka. At first they do a little roaming while Siku stays in the water. He will interact with any visitors left, jumping up and generally showing off, similar to any young boy. If we are lucky there will be a time for nursing. I would imagine these special moments will get rarer as the twins grow and become less dependent on mother’s milk. Ilka has turned out to be a super mother to her twins, always being as patient as a mother can be.

In case you haven’t tuned in and seen Siku recently you may be surprised at how large he has gotten! The cubs have grown by leaps and bounds as well. At times it is hard to determine just who the mother is and who the twins are. Siku is rather easy to tell from the rest as his head is a bit larger than either of the twins.

So tune in on any given Thursday through Saturday when I’m running the cams… oh heck tune in EVERY day for some summer fun with Siku and his family!