Few baby animals are more adorable than a roly-poly white polar bear cub. So it’s no wonder that Siku has stolen the hearts of the world via the Polar Bear Cam at Denmark’s Scandinavian Wildlife Park.
Meet Siku! Photo: Soren Koch, Scandinavian Wildlife Park
Siku was born Nov. 22, 2011 to Ilka, the park’s female polar bear. His name is the most common word for sea ice in the Inuit language, an apt moniker for a bear who is an ambassador for his wild counterparts in the Arctic. Siku’s mission (though he may not know it) is to draw worldwide attention to the plight of polar bears, which are gravely threatened by global warming that is causing the sea ice to melt.
Polar bears rely almost entirely on sea ice for hunting seals, a practice that has sustained them for millennia. Without ice, they can’t hunt. And that’s why Siku’s very name is an important part of the role he is playing in raising public awareness.
Siku on the move. Photo: Soren Koch, Scandinavian Wildlife Park.
Watch delightful, daily live-action footage of Siku as he grows up, on the Polar Bear Cam. And take action, with these important resources from Polar Bear International, to reduce your own climate footprint and help protect wild polar bears.
And may I suggest that there is simply nothing more moving, when it comes to polar bears, than seeing them in the wild for yourself? Join a Natural Habitat Adventures Polar Bear Tour in Churchill this fall! You’re almost sure to see some yearling or two-year-old cubs — what Siku will look like in a few short months — as well as sparring young males testing their mettle before the ice freezes on Hudson Bay. It was the wildlife adventure of a lifetime for me!
Keep it Cold,
Wendy
