A polar bear cub was born in the Perm Zoo

19.2.2025 – Source: Perm Zoo

Official announcement by Perm Zoo on the birth of polar bear cub:

The parents were a pair of polar predators, favorites of visitors – a female Milka and a male Seriku. This is the first offspring for them.

The cub was born on November 15, 2024 and spends all his time with his mother in the den, his sex is still unknown. Newly mama Milka is caring, affectionate and patient with the baby’s antics. In his three months the cub is active, inquisitive, playful and is already starting to follow his mom, but he is still apprehensive about everything. As a real mother, Milka protects and defends the little predator.

Visually the bear cub is healthy, its development corresponds to the age. The baby weighs about 10 kilograms. Polar bears grow quite fast thanks to their mother’s nutritious milk. The Perm polar bear cub is already starting to taste adult food – meat brought by Milka. The bear cub’s father, a bear named Seriku, who was rescued from the wild after being injured, will stay in a neighboring enclosure for the time being.

“We have been looking forward to receiving offspring from our beautiful pair of polar bears for several years. The zoo team created a favorable environment for the baby to be born. As soon as Milka’s pregnancy was suspected, the den was insulated for her, and Milka and her baby are under round-the-clock observation with the help of video cameras installed in the enclosure – said Julia Shitova, General Director of the zoo – The zoo staff is making every effort to create comfortable conditions for the growth and development of the bear cub”.

Bears start to leave the den and take the cubs out for a walk in the artificially created habitat when the cubs are 3-4 months old, depending on their readiness to follow their mother. The cubs stay with their mother until they are 1.5-2 years old. During this time, she teaches them all the bear skills they need to live independently.

A pair of polar bears became parents for the first time. Milka came to the Perm Zoo at the age of one year. She was born in Kazan in 2012, knew people well and was friendly towards them. The bear cub immediately showed herself active, playful and inquisitive. After arriving in Perm, Milka regularly climbed and walked around the fence of the bear sanctuary, often standing on her hind legs and checking if she had outgrown the height of the bars.

Seriku was born in the wild, on Bely Island, where he was discovered by eco-volunteers at the age of eight months in 2013. The cub’s mother had been killed by poachers, and the cub itself had been shot in the paw. The volunteers treated the wound with antibiotics from the camping kit, gave antibiotics with condensed milk, and fed it fish. When the question of a new home for Seriku arose, the choice fell on the Perm Zoo. In the wild, one cub would not have survived in the wild, but at that time the Perm Zoo already had a great and successful experience of keeping polar bears. So, with transfers, Seriku was brought by helicopter from Yamal to the city of Perm.

Milka and Seriku met as small cubs 11 years ago, and their childhood friendship grew into true love and affection. Over time, the predators have become practically inseparable: they eat together, bathe together and even sleep in the same den, cuddled together.

The birth of a polar bear in a zoo is a significant event for Russia. The polar predator is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation as endangered, as well as in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has the status of a rare or endangered species. A strategy for polar bear conservation in Russia was developed by experts and approved by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2010. The total number of polar bears in Russia is about 4 thousand individuals.

There are 35 polar bears in 16 zoos of our country. Since 2013, all of them have been under the care of Rosneft. The Company ensures their maintenance, feeding, veterinary support, as well as renovation of enclosures, scientific research and educational programs. Preservation and protection of the polar bear population is one of the main areas of Rosneft’s environmental program. With the Company’s support, special toys have been developed to increase the physical activity of the animals. In addition, Rosneft is implementing a program to rescue and rehabilitate young polar bears left in the wild without their mother’s care.

Visitors to the Perm Zoo will be able to see the cub in March, when the cub will have the courage to leave the den with its mother. At the same time, a name will be chosen for the little predator.