Flocke - The baby polar

Flocke (German pronunciation: [ˈflɔkə]) is a polar bear cub who was born in captivity at the Nuremberg Zoo on 11 December 2007. A few weeks after her birth, she was removed from her mother's care after concerns were raised for her safety. Although the zoo had established a strict non-interference policy with its animals, officials chose to raise the cub by hand. This decision came at a time when the zoo was receiving negative attention from the media after another female polar bear reportedly ate her newly born cubs.

Similar to the excitement around Knut, a captive-born and handraised polar bear at the Berlin Zoo, Flocke ("snowflake" in German) quickly became a media sensation. Her enclosure turned into a popular tourist attraction after she debuted to the public on 8 April 2008. Her name was trademarked and her image appeared on toys and in advertisements throughout the city. The zoo announced in May 2008 that United Nations Environment Program chief Achim Steiner would be Flocke's official patron; it hopes to use Flocke as an ambassador to encourage awareness of climate change.