Vienna’s zoo’s precious 10-week-old polar bear cub takes its first wobbly steps as it explores enclosure
- Hidden camera footage shows the baby crawling at Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna
- Cub clambers around the pen and at one point hauls itself on to its mother’s side
- The youngster fidgets and scratches at the floor as its mother Nora tries to sleep
A zoo in Austria has released adorable footage of a 10-week polar bear cub taking its first wobbly steps.
Video from a hidden camera shows the baby crawl away from mother Nora in their enclosure at Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna.
The cub, which was born on November 9, clambers around the pen and at one point hauls itself on to its mother’s side, before slipping down her back.
Video from a hidden camera shows the baby crawl away from mother Nora in their enclosure at Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna (pictured)
In footage that many parents will be able to relate to, the youngster fidgets and scratches at the floor as Nora tries to sleep.
The baby then takes to pestering its mother by lying beside her and pawing her face.
The polar bear became mother for the first time when she gave birth to twins, but one of them did not survive.
Zoo director Dagmar Schratter said workers were taking great care of the cub as the mortality rate for baby polar bears outdoors is high.
In footage that many parents will be able to relate to, the youngster fidgets and scratches at the floor as Nora tries to sleep (shown)
A spokesman for the zoo said: ‘Our polar bear baby is enjoying the best of health.
‘It is taking its first steps, at the moment still very wobbly, it can’t yet get out of its birthing box but practise makes perfect and we are certain that the cub will get more and more experience of its surroundings in the coming weeks.
‘But it will need three more weeks before going into the outdoor enclosure with its mother and then visitors will be able to see the cub live.’
They added: ‘The mother Nora is young and inexperienced and this is her first cub.
The baby then takes to pestering its mother by lying beside her and pawing her face (pictured)
‘But she is a wonderful mother, not just because of the way she is looking after her cub, but she enjoys playing with the little one so there are wonderful interactions that are really fun to watch.’
Nora is expected to take care of her cub for the next few months and it is believed they will venture out of the enclosure around the end of the month, where it will be visible to the visitors for the first time.
In spring, Nora and male Ranzo mated several times, the zoo said.
Male polar bears are not involved in rearing in the field, which is why father Ranzo is separated and can still be seen by visitors to the zoo.
The last time polar bears were born at the zoo was in 2011.
At birth, polar bears weigh about half a kilogram and are born blind and with little fur.