Video: Brookfield Zoo shows off newest Chicago bear

The Brookfield Zoo's tiny polar bear, born Dec. 14, has remained in a maternity den with its mother, Arki, since birth.

The baby was about 1 1/2 pounds at birth. It's now up to 10 pounds and is a little larger than a football.

Cute Knut

First Polar Bear Born in Berlin Zoo in 30 Years

Berlin Zoo is delighted at the birth of Knut, the first polar bear to be born in the animal park in over 30 years. The cub spent his first 44 days in an incubator after being rejected by his mother. Now he's being raised on a bottle.

Knut was born on Dec. 5, 2006, the first polar bear cub to be born in Berlin Zoo in 30 years, but was rejected by his mother, the 20-year-old polar bear Tosca. His twin brother died four days after the birth.

Little Knut spent the first 44 days of his life in an incubator. Thanks to the loving care of the zoo staff, he prospered and now has "a good chance of survival," according to his keeper Thomas Dörflein. The dedicated Dörflein has slept in the zoo since the birth of the bear in order to provide round-the-clock care to the cub, and feeds Knut milk six times a day with a bottle.

Knut weighed only 810 grams (1.8 pounds) when he was born but now tips the scales at 3.9 kilograms (8.6 pounds). He still has a long way to go though -- adult male polar bears can weigh up to 800 kilograms.

More Polar Bears Giving Birth on Land

Pregnant polar bears in Alaska, which spend most of their lives on sea ice, are increasingly giving birth on land, according to researchers who say global warming is probably to blame.

The study by three scientists for the U.S. Geological Survey suggests the state's bear population could be harmed if the climate continues to grow warmer. Though bears are powerful swimmers, at some point they might have to cross vast stretches of open water to reach habitat on shore suitable for building dens in which to give birth.

From 1985 to 1994, 62 percent of the female polar bears studied dug dens in snow on sea ice. From 1998 to 2004, just 37 percent made dens on ice. The rest dug snow dens on land, according to the study.

What has been happening to polar bears in recent decades?

Polar bears have long captured the attention of the general public but probably at no time in the past have they been more in the forefront of the public's imagination than today. Today's heightened interest in polar bears may be due in part to an enhanced understanding of the ecology of polar bears, their environment, and an increased interest in Arctic issues brought on by concerns for climate change.

US to propose polar bear for endangered list

The Bush administration has decided to propose listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, putting the U S government on record as saying that global warming could drive one of the world's most recognizable animals out of existence.

The administration's proposal -- which was described by an Interior Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity -- stems from rising temperatures in the arctic that are shrinking the sea ice polar bears need for hunting. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the department will submit the proposal today for publication in the Federal Register, after which it will be subject to public comment for 90 days.

Polar Bear Habitat & Heritage Village

Since July 2004, in the little town of Cochrane, northern Ontario (Canada), you can visit the Polar Bear Habitat, a kind of local zoo where people can live the once-in-a-lifetime experience of an outdoor swim with polar bears.
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