A blind and deaf polar bear cub has been taken from his mother because she could not produce enough milk to feed him.
Siku, meaning 'ice' in the Inupiaq language spoken in Greenland, was born at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Denmark's northeast last month before being taken into the home of a zoo keeper, Toronto Star reports.
Scandinavian Wildlife Park manager Frank Vigh-Larsen will be caring for the cute cub around the clock in his apartment in Kolind, just outside Copenhagen.
A team of two other workers from the wildlife park will help Vigh-Larsen provide 24-hour assistance to the vulnerable cub throughout the first year of its life.
Siku has been hungrily lapping up milk since being taken into specialist care and his urge to feed is so strong he reportedly suckles from his handler's fingers.
The sustenance his mother cannot provide has helped Siku grow to 3.2kg — when he was born last month he was not much larger than a rat and weighed only 800g.
Siku will be introduced to the park's five adult polar bears, including his mother, in the northern Spring.
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