Keepers of the Highland Wildlife Park have released fresh footage of their new polar bear cub.
Delighted staff from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) announced the polar bear’s arrival at the park, near Kingussie, in December.
The cub is only the second to be born in the UK in almost three decades.
Hamish became the UK’s first polar bear cub in 25 years following his birth in 2017.
He went onto become a fan favourite at the Highland park, with visitors from all over the country eager to catch a glimpse of the young cub.
Five years on, he is now enjoying life at his new home at Yorkshire Wildlife Park where he will help with future breeding programmes.
In a new short clip shared to their social media account today, the one-month-old cub can be seen wriggling and rolling over before settling down for a sleep in the cubbing den with mum Victoria close by.
Visitors to the park will have to wait until later in the new year to catch their first proper glimpse of the youngster as the cub remains by mum Victoria’s side in the off-show den.
Milestone achievement for Highland keepers
In November, keepers said they were hopeful for the arrival of a second cub after reuniting Victoria and her old mate Arktos.
25-year-old Victoria, the UK’s only female polar bear, was born at the Rostock Zoo in Germany and brought to Scotland in 2015.
She gave birth to the cub’s sibling Hamish five-years-ago.
Last year, the mating pair were reunited at the park in the hopes of birthing a second polar bear cub.
Victoria re-entered her cubbing box for the winter season with staff hopeful a new arrival would be just round the corner.
When keepers first heard the distinctive high-pitched cub noises from mum Victoria’s enclosure in December, they were delighted.
