Wilbär is a
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
who was born in captivity at the
Wilhelma
)
, native_name_lang = deu / ger
, logo = Wilhelma Zoo Logo.png
, logo_size =
, logo_alt = Logo of Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden
, logo_caption = Logo of Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden
, image ...
Zoo in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on December 10, 2007.
Wilbär made his first public appearance on April 16, 2008, swimming alongside his mother. His name comes from combining the name of the zoo with the German word for bear (
Bär
Bär (or Baer, from German: bear) is the surname may refer to:
* Abraham Dob Bär Lebensohn (c. 1789/1794–1878), Russian poet and grammarian
* Dietmar Bär (born 1961), German actor
* Dorothee Bär (born 1978), German politician
* Heinrich Bä ...
).
Zoo officials have registered the name as a trademark.
Sweden
In May 2009, Wilbär left Wilhelma Zoo and was shipped to
Orsa Grönklitt wildlife park in Sweden. There he is paired with Ewa, from the
Rotterdam Zoo
( ''Blijdorp Zoo''), officially Rotterdam Zoo, is a zoo located in the northwestern part of Rotterdam. It is one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands, and has been operated by the ("Royal Rotterdam Zoo Foundation"). Divided into several zoogeog ...
, and received many gifts from Germany on his birthday. In spring of 2011, zoo officials thought Ewa might be pregnant.
[Michael Gerster]
"Wilbär wird vielleicht Vater"
''Stuttgarter Nachrichten
''Stuttgarter Nachrichten'' (''Stuttgart News'') is a newspaper that is published in Stuttgart-Möhringen, Germany. It sells together with the ''Stuttgarter Zeitung
The ''Stuttgarter Zeitung'' ("Stuttgart newspaper") is a German-language ...
'', updated 22 March 2011 Wilbär's first female cub, Miki, was born in December of 2013. Two twin cubs, Noori and Nanook, were born in November of 2021.
Netherlands
On March 12, 2022, Wilbär was transferred to the Dierenrijk Zoo in Nuenen, Netherlands.
See also
*
Knut (polar bear)
Knut (; 5 December 2006 – 19 March 2011) was an orphaned polar bear born in Captivity (animal), captivity at the Berlin Zoological Garden. Rejected by his mother at birth, he was raised by zookeepers. He was the first polar bear cub to survi ...
*
Flocke
*
List of individual bears
The following is a list of individual bears which garnered national or worldwide attention:
Actors
* Bart the Bear, a male Alaskan Kodiak bear, played the leading role in the 1988 wilderness drama, ''The Bear (1988 film), The Bear''. Between 1980 ...
References
External links
Wilbär Tagebuchon the Wilhelma website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilbar
Individual polar bears
2007 animal births
Male mammals
Individual animals in Germany
Individual bears