Polar bear cub in intensive care after sibling dies

The care includes feeding the cub a special milk formula the zoo has developed over years of raising polar bear cubs by hand.

Aurora, one of the zoo’s two female polar bears, gave birth to two cubs on the evening of November 11, the zoo said.

A polar bear cub born at the Toronto Zoo earlier this month has died and its sibling has been moved into intensive care. The staff then intervened and moved the second cub, as yet unnamed, to the zoo’s intensive care unit.

Aurora attempted to nurse both cubs, but she was not producing any milk, staff said. While in the WHC, staff will be monitoring it very closely and providing supportive medical care as necessary, including intravenous fluids.

“This is an extremely critical time for this tiny cub”, Dr. Chris Dutton, Toronto Zoo’s Head of Veterinary Services, said in a written statement.

“So far [the cub] appears to have responded very well to the treatments”.

The zoo is part of a larger research project into polar bear reproduction. In September, the zoo welcomed four white lion cubs, followed by two panda cubs (the first pandas born in Canada!) in October.

The cubs’ 800-pound mother showed “good maternal instincts”, the zoo said in a statement Friday, announcing the birth and death.

Polar bears have the lowest reproductive rates of all mammals.