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Siku (born 22 November 2011 in Skandinavisk Dyrepark) is a male polar bear cub, he has several siblings such as Sné. After his mother failed to produce enough milk to feed him, he was taken into care in the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Denmark.〔("Baby Polar Bear "siku" Orphaned After Mother Fails To Produce Enough Milk" ). ''The Huffington Post''. (23 December, 2011.) Accessed 24 December, 2011.〕 In terms of popular appeal, he is by some considered to be a possible successor to the polar bear Knut, who attracted worldwide attention at Berlin Zoo from 2006 until his death in 2011. A YouTube video showing Siku at the age of one month attracted hundreds of thousands of hits in just twenty-four hours and he was hailed internationally as an online sensation, especially after appearing on the official BBC website. ==Biography== Siku was born on 22 November 2011〔"(Skandinavisk Dyrepark website )". Accessed 24 December 2011.〕 at Skandinavisk Dyrepark ("Scandinavian Wildlife Park") in Djursland, Denmark.〔Mandell, Nina. (22 December 2011). ("Siku, a baby polar bear, captures hearts around the world" ). ''The New York Daily News''. Accessed 24 December 2011.〕 His name means "sea ice" in the Inuit language Iñupiaq.〔Longbottom, Wil. (23 December 2011.) ("The cub who simply can't bear waking up" ). ''The Daily Mail''. Accessed 24 December 2011〕 According to the Scandinavian Wildlife Park, The name is symbolic, because the polar bears are 100% dependent on sea ice for their survival. Polar bears catch all their prey from the sea ice, so no sea ice – no polar bears. Due to global warming the sea ice in the Arctic Sea is rapidly diminishing, and the latest forecasts predict that the polar bear may be almost extinct in the wild 40 years from now.〔 Siku's mother, Ilka, had no milk in her breasts for the third year running, and so the park decided to "immobilize" her.〔According to park manager Frank Vigh-Larsen, Siku weighed three pounds (1.8 kg) at birth, but grew within his first month to seven pounds' (3.2 kg) weight.〔("Abandoned polar bear cub Siku is set to be internet sensation" ). (22 December 2011.) ''The Daily Mirror''. Accessed 24 December 2011.〕 Receiving insufficient milk from Ilka, Siku was revealed on surveillance video inside the bear cave to be "moaning and being unruly all the time."〔 At two days old, he was removed from his mother, as remaining with her could have endangered his life.〔 His mother's defaulting on milk orphaned him, so that he required foster care, a type of ex-situ conservation. Still blind and deaf at the age of one month, Siku has to be bottle-fed.〔("Meet Siku – the newest polar bear cub destined to melt hearts" ) in "Pictures of the Day". ''The Daily Telegraph''. (23 December 2011.) Accessed 24 December 2011.〕 He was put into care at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Kolind, northwest of Copenhagen,〔 a privately owned zoo housing animals native to Scandinavia including wolves, brown bears, and reindeer.〔De Giorgia, Lorianna. (22 December 2011.) ("Cuter than Knut?" ) Accessed 24 December 2011.〕 There, three zookeepers will hand-rear him, providing 24-hour foster care to the tiny cub until he reaches a year old.〔 For the moment, Vigh-Larsen is giving Siku 24-hour care in his own apartment at the zoo, with two more people expected to assist in New Year 2012. Vigh-Larsen was quoted as saying, "He likes to be very social between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In the first week he slept in his crate. . . but now he refuses to sleep in there and (instead) sleeps in bed with me."〔 Full integration of Siku is expected to take two years. In spring 2012, Siku will be re-introduced to the zoo’s five adult polar bears, including his mother, Ilka.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siku (polar bear)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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