Zoo kept 'mum' over baby bear

Updated 07.54 Fri Feb 29 2008

Keywords: Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart, polar bear, Germany

A zoo in Germany has just revealed that it has been home to a polar bear cub since before Christmas.

Stuttgart's Wilhelma Zoo announced that one of its polar bears gave birth to a male cub on December 10.

Wilbaer now weighs in at about 13 pounds, but visitors will have to wait until May to see him for themselves

Unlike Berlin zoo's high-profile baby bear, Knut, and Nuremberg's Flocke, little Wilbaer's mother, Corinna, hasn't abandoned him.

According to the zoo's director, Dieter Jauch, "Corinna is taking exemplary care of her offspring".

He explained that following the media frenzy that surrounded Knut last year the zoo decided to keep Wilbaer's birth under wraps, saying they were not interested in making "big money".

However, Mr Jauch added that the zoo has had the cub's name - a combination of the zoo's name and the German for bear, 'baer' - registered as a trademark.

Wilbaer now weighs in at about 13 pounds, but visitors will have to wait until May to see him for themselves.