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New Cub a Web Sensation

German fans send thousand of emails suggesting names for furry celeb

By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 11, 2008 7:45 PM CST
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(Newser) – The Nuremberg zoo's cuddly new polar bear cub still doesn't have a name, but it does have a website—and a fast-growing legion of smitten fans. "We're getting 15 emails with name suggestions every minute," said a city spokesman. For the time being, zookeepers have dubbed the cub Flocke, German for flake, the AP reports.

Zoo officials took the 4-week-old cub from its mother earlier this week over fears she would harm it. The publicity frenzy is reminiscent of that over Germany's other famous polar bear, Knut, who grew up before delighted throngs at Berlin's zoo. The newest bottle-fed celebrity weighs 4.4 pounds and is just more than a foot long. It even has its own baby monitor.

A photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuernberg' zoo in Nuremberg on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 shows a polar bear baby being brushed after the evening feeding on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo bottle-feed the cub that was taken away from its mother Vera over fears she might harm...
A photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuernberg' zoo in Nuremberg on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 shows a polar bear baby being brushed after the evening feeding on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo bottle-feed...   (Associated Press)
A photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuernberg' zoo in Nuremberg on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 shows a polar bear baby during the evening feeding on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo bottle-feed the cub that was taken away from its mother Vera over fears she might harm it. (AP...
A photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuernberg' zoo in Nuremberg on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 shows a polar bear baby during the evening feeding on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo bottle-feed the...   (Associated Press)
Polar bear Felix rests in front of a fence separating him from female polar bear Lara at the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Felix, who is the father of the still nameless polar bear baby at the zoo in Nuremberg, is expected to produce offspring with young...
Polar bear Felix rests in front of a fence separating him from female polar bear Lara at the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Felix, who is the father of the still nameless polar...   (Associated Press)
A photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuernberg' zoo in Nuremberg on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 shows a polar bear baby after the evening feeding on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo bottle-feed the cub that was taken away from its mother Vera over fears she might harm it. (AP...
A photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuernberg' zoo in Nuremberg on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 shows a polar bear baby after the evening feeding on Thursday, Jan 10, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo bottle-feed the...   (Associated Press)
Vera, the polar bear yawns in her enclosure at Nuremberg Zoo, Germany, Wednesday Jan. 9, 2008. The zoo announced Tuesday that it would begin bottle-feeding a newborn polar bear cub that was taken away from Vera over fears she might harm it. (AP Photo/Andreas Beil)
Vera, the polar bear yawns in her enclosure at Nuremberg Zoo, Germany, Wednesday Jan. 9, 2008. The zoo announced Tuesday that it would begin bottle-feeding a newborn polar bear cub that was taken away...   (Associated Press)
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Zookeeper: Flocke is 'fit as a fiddle'
Der Spiegel

Flocke wins over zookeepers' hearts
Reuters

The baby bear's site (in German)
Nuremburg Zoo

 
Knut • zoo • polar bear • Nuremburg Zoo • animal

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