Flocke
Encyclopedia
Flocke (ˈflɔkə) is a female polar bear
who was born in captivity at the Nuremberg Zoo
in Nuremberg
, Germany
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.
Like Knut
, a captive-born and handraised polar bear at the Berlin Zoo, Flocke ("flake" in German) quickly became a media sensation. After she made her debut to the public on 8 April 2008, her name was trademarked by the zoo 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 with the hope of using the bear as an ambassador to encourage awareness of climate change
. In late 2008, a Russian-born male polar bear named Rasputin was introduced to Flocke's enclosure in the hopes that she would gain valuable socializing skills with a member of her own species. In April 2010, both bears were relocated to Marineland
in southern France.
Flocke was born at the Nuremberg Zoo on 11 December 2007 to Vera (born 2002 in Moscow
) and Felix (born 2001 in Vienna
). Felix also mated with Vera's sister Vilma, who gave birth some weeks earlier in November to what officials thought were two cubs. Zookeepers, enforcing a strict non-interference policy, were not able to determine exactly how many cubs were born. The zoo reportedly did not wish to create a media circus
similar to the one that surrounded Knut
, an orphaned polar bear at the Berlin Zoo who became an international celebrity the previous year. Days after the zoo reaffirmed its non-interference policy, mass circulation daily Bild ran a story with a headline reading "Why Won't Anyone Save the Cute Baby Knuts in Nuremberg Zoo?"
At the beginning of January, zoo keepers noticed that Vilma appeared nervous; she was seen agitatedly scratching at her feedbox, and there was no further sign of her cubs. It is believed that she devoured them. When asked for a reason, Nuremberg zoo director Dag Encke stated that they could have been ill, a circumstance under which polar bears in the wild often eat their young. The zoo quickly faced harsh criticism throughout Germany and from the worldwide media for appearing to allow the cubs' death. The director of the German Animal Protection Society said the zoo had acted irresponsibly and that "it was the ethical responsibility of the management to give the polar bear cubs a chance of life. Using the argument 'That's Nature' as an excuse for intervening far too late is cynical and inappropriate." Angry visitors gathered in front of the polar bear enclosure and shouted "Rabenmutter" (literally, "raven mother," meaning "evil mother") every time Vilma appeared.
Meanwhile, Vera was seen emerging from her den for the first time; her single cub, helpless at only four weeks old, appeared to be in good health. A couple days after the media backlash that followed Vilma's missing cubs, Vera began displaying strange behavior such as carrying her then-unnamed cub around the enclosure and repeatedly dropping it on the hard rock floor. Concerned for the cub's safety, the Nuremberg Zoo made a controversial decision to remove her from her mother's care and raise her by hand.
Less than a week after Vera's cub was removed from the polar bear enclosure, the zoo dedicated a website to the cub. It provided frequent updates on her health and development, as well as exclusive photographs and videos. The website also showcased a competition in which fans could vote for the cub's name. The official name was announced on 18 January 2008 by Ulrich Maly
, mayor of Nuremberg, and broadcast live on television. Despite the overwhelming number of e-mailed suggestions from across the world (including "Stella", "Knutschi", "Sissi" and "Yuki Chan"), the zoo officially named her Flocke, German for "flake", as in "snowflake". "Flocke", used widely by the media previous to her official naming, was the nickname originally given to her by zookeepers because of her white fur.
Flocke's growth was carefully reported by the media during her first few months. Four zookeepers took turns bottle-feeding the cub with 140 milliliters of artificial milk every four hours and news of her eyes opening for the first time made headlines a few days before she was officially named. At five weeks old, she was referred to by the publication Bild as "Mrs. Knut", suggesting that the two German-born polar bears might become mates when they mature. As she grew, Flocke's diet was enriched with dog food, and boiled bones were supplied for her to chew on when she was three months old. She was soon taken to the zoo's beginners' pool to practice her swimming skills. The zoo had previously stated that they were seeking another orphaned polar or brown bear
cub to raise alongside Flocke in order to improve her development.
On 8 April 2008, Flocke made her first public appearance in the polar bear enclosure that had once been home to Vilma; the adult polar bear had been relocated to another zoo. The four-month-old cub was greeted by more than 160 journalists and a half-dozen international camera crews on the first day. During the first week, Flocke was displayed for short intervals with breaks at midday. Expecting a peak of 20,000 visitors, the zoo built a viewing platform, capable of holding 500 people at a time, in front of the enclosure, but attendance by zoo patrons was initially lower than expected. The zoo uses a video transmission and recording system from Bosch
Security Systems to transmit TV-quality live images of the cub to a pair of 46 inches (1,168.4 mm) large-format screens. This system, which includes one screen outside the enclosure, was implemented to help the zoo meet the demands of visitors wanting to catch a glimpse of Flocke.
Shortly after her debut, however, Flocke became the focus of controversy when prominent animal conservationist Jürgen Ortmüller, chairman of the Whale and Dolphin Protection Forum, hired a lawyer to stop Nuremberg Zoo's exploitation of the polar bear cub. Claiming that Flocke's public exposure would have damaging effects and that the zoo was only concerned about earning money, Ortmüller recruited high-profile lawyer Ralf Bossi to challenge them in court.
Dubbed "Flocke fever" by the press (similar to the "Knutmania" from the previous year), the cub's popularity soared in early 2008. Her image has been used for games, diaries, soft toys, DVDs, postcards and other items. The first product released, a Flocke-based board game that was released in February, was made by the Fuerth
-based firm Noris-Spiele, a unit of Georg Reulein GmbH & Co. KG. The well-known toy company Steiff began selling a variety of Flocke stuffed animals the following May. The income from the merchandise is currently going towards the zoo and to species survival programs.
At the age of six months, it was reported that Flocke, whose diet at the time consisted mostly of a kilogram of beef, assorted vegetables and a liter of puppy milk a day, was at the correct weight for her development at 45 kilograms (99.2 lb). The zoo's vet, Bernhard Neurohr, also remarked upon the bear's sweet tooth, stating that "Flocke is very enthusiastic about grapes, melon, kiwi fruit and pears", with a particular fondness for bananas.
United Nations Environment Program chief Achim Steiner became Flocke's official patron in May 2008. By assuming this role, Steiner acknowledged Nuremberg Zoo's efforts towards local climate protection, stating "I am happy to have been asked to become 'godfather' to Nuremberg's polar bear cub Flocke. I sincerely hope that during her lifetime we will be able to implement a global green economy."
In June 2008, a new poster campaign featuring Flocke was announced; its goal was strengthening public awareness of individuals' ability to protect Earth's climate. Sponsored by the Nuremberg Zoo in conjunction with the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region, the poster showed Flocke and the phrase "Klimaschutz beginnt vor Ort" ("Climate Protection Begins At Home"). The zoo also published a pocket-sized brochure featuring Flocke. Entitled "Little Guide to Climate Protection", it taught visitors how to decrease their carbon dioxide
emissions. The Nuremberg Zoo announced in September that it had reached its one millionth visitor for 2008—two months earlier than last year. Although ticket sales for the year increased due to Flocke's popularity, the numbers did not match high expectations. The same month it was announced that the cub, now weighing 60 kilograms (132.3 lb), would no longer have lunchtime breaks in her stable, and would remain in the enclosure throughout the day.
A male polar bear cub named Rasputin was relocated from Moscow
to the Nuremberg Zoo in December 2008 for what was thought to be an extended stay before his permanent move to a zoo in Madrid
. Originally meant to remain in Germany for only a year, the male bear—called "Raspi" by fans—shared Flocke's enclosure. The zoo hoped that Rasputin, who unlike Flocke was raised by his mother, would teach their celebrity bear how to interact with those of her own species. According to a statement given by the city, the bears "get along famously".
On October 21, 2009, the city of Nuremberg announced that Flocke and Rasputin would move together to a newly constructed enclosure at Marineland
, located in Antibes
, France
, at the beginning of 2010. Due to the close relationship between the two adolescent bears, officials from the European Conservation Breeding Program (Europäischen Erhaltungszucht-Programms, or "EEP") decided that the two bears should remain together despite earlier plans for Rasputin to relocate to Madrid alone. The enclosure they are vacating in Nuremberg will be utilized by Flocke's parents, Vera and Felix, in the hopes that they will produce more cubs. Despite last minute efforts by the animal right's group PETA
to halt the move based on concerns for Flocke and Rasputin's well-being, the two bears arrived safely in France on 22 April 2010.
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
who was born in captivity at the Nuremberg Zoo
Tiergarten Nürnberg
Nuremberg Zoo is a zoo located in the Nuremberg Reichswald , southeast of Nuremberg, Germany. With an area of , approximately 300 animal species are kept by the zoo.- In the Middle Ages :...
in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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.
Like Knut
Knut (polar bear)
Knut was a polar bear who was born in 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 survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in more than 30 years. At one time the subject of international controversy,...
, a captive-born and handraised polar bear at the Berlin Zoo, Flocke ("flake" in German) quickly became a media sensation. After she made her debut to the public on 8 April 2008, her name was trademarked by the zoo and her image appeared on toys and in advertisements throughout the city. The zoo announced in May 2008 that United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Environment Program chief Achim Steiner
Achim Steiner
Achim Steiner is a German expert in environmental politics. From 2001 to 2006 he was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources...
would be Flocke's official patron with the hope of using the bear as an ambassador to encourage awareness of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. In late 2008, a Russian-born male polar bear named Rasputin was introduced to Flocke's enclosure in the hopes that she would gain valuable socializing skills with a member of her own species. In April 2010, both bears were relocated to Marineland
Marineland (Antibes)
Marineland is an animal exhibition park in Antibes, France. It was founded in 1970 by Roland de la Poype. First, it was a small oceanarium with a few pools and animals but now it is one of the biggest in the world and receives more than 1,200,000 visitors per year...
in southern France.
Infancy and controversy
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) and Felix (born 2001 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
). Felix also mated with Vera's sister Vilma, who gave birth some weeks earlier in November to what officials thought were two cubs. Zookeepers, enforcing a strict non-interference policy, were not able to determine exactly how many cubs were born. The zoo reportedly did not wish to create a media circus
Media circus
Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event where the media coverage is perceived to be out of proportion to the event being covered, such as the number of reporters at the scene, the amount of news media published or broadcast, and the level of media hype...
similar to the one that surrounded Knut
Knut (polar bear)
Knut was a polar bear who was born in 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 survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in more than 30 years. At one time the subject of international controversy,...
, an orphaned polar bear at the Berlin Zoo who became an international celebrity the previous year. Days after the zoo reaffirmed its non-interference policy, mass circulation daily Bild ran a story with a headline reading "Why Won't Anyone Save the Cute Baby Knuts in Nuremberg Zoo?"
At the beginning of January, zoo keepers noticed that Vilma appeared nervous; she was seen agitatedly scratching at her feedbox, and there was no further sign of her cubs. It is believed that she devoured them. When asked for a reason, Nuremberg zoo director Dag Encke stated that they could have been ill, a circumstance under which polar bears in the wild often eat their young. The zoo quickly faced harsh criticism throughout Germany and from the worldwide media for appearing to allow the cubs' death. The director of the German Animal Protection Society said the zoo had acted irresponsibly and that "it was the ethical responsibility of the management to give the polar bear cubs a chance of life. Using the argument 'That's Nature' as an excuse for intervening far too late is cynical and inappropriate." Angry visitors gathered in front of the polar bear enclosure and shouted "Rabenmutter" (literally, "raven mother," meaning "evil mother") every time Vilma appeared.
Meanwhile, Vera was seen emerging from her den for the first time; her single cub, helpless at only four weeks old, appeared to be in good health. A couple days after the media backlash that followed Vilma's missing cubs, Vera began displaying strange behavior such as carrying her then-unnamed cub around the enclosure and repeatedly dropping it on the hard rock floor. Concerned for the cub's safety, the Nuremberg Zoo made a controversial decision to remove her from her mother's care and raise her by hand.
Fame
Ulrich Maly
Dr. Ulrich Maly is a German politician, member of the SPD and, since 2002, the Mayor of Nuremberg.- Life :Ulrich Maly was born in Nuremberg, Bavaria, and educated at the elementary school in the Amberger Straße and the Johannes Scharrer Gymnasium...
, mayor of Nuremberg, and broadcast live on television. Despite the overwhelming number of e-mailed suggestions from across the world (including "Stella", "Knutschi", "Sissi" and "Yuki Chan"), the zoo officially named her Flocke, German for "flake", as in "snowflake". "Flocke", used widely by the media previous to her official naming, was the nickname originally given to her by zookeepers because of her white fur.
Flocke's growth was carefully reported by the media during her first few months. Four zookeepers took turns bottle-feeding the cub with 140 milliliters of artificial milk every four hours and news of her eyes opening for the first time made headlines a few days before she was officially named. At five weeks old, she was referred to by the publication Bild as "Mrs. Knut", suggesting that the two German-born polar bears might become mates when they mature. As she grew, Flocke's diet was enriched with dog food, and boiled bones were supplied for her to chew on when she was three months old. She was soon taken to the zoo's beginners' pool to practice her swimming skills. The zoo had previously stated that they were seeking another orphaned polar or brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
cub to raise alongside Flocke in order to improve her development.
On 8 April 2008, Flocke made her first public appearance in the polar bear enclosure that had once been home to Vilma; the adult polar bear had been relocated to another zoo. The four-month-old cub was greeted by more than 160 journalists and a half-dozen international camera crews on the first day. During the first week, Flocke was displayed for short intervals with breaks at midday. Expecting a peak of 20,000 visitors, the zoo built a viewing platform, capable of holding 500 people at a time, in front of the enclosure, but attendance by zoo patrons was initially lower than expected. The zoo uses a video transmission and recording system from Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
Security Systems to transmit TV-quality live images of the cub to a pair of 46 inches (1,168.4 mm) large-format screens. This system, which includes one screen outside the enclosure, was implemented to help the zoo meet the demands of visitors wanting to catch a glimpse of Flocke.
Shortly after her debut, however, Flocke became the focus of controversy when prominent animal conservationist Jürgen Ortmüller, chairman of the Whale and Dolphin Protection Forum, hired a lawyer to stop Nuremberg Zoo's exploitation of the polar bear cub. Claiming that Flocke's public exposure would have damaging effects and that the zoo was only concerned about earning money, Ortmüller recruited high-profile lawyer Ralf Bossi to challenge them in court.
Merchandising and branding
Soon after Flocke was rescued in January, the city secured branding rights to her name. An official logo was subsequently released by the zoo. Flocke became part of a major publicity campaign in Nuremberg when she was depicted along with the phrase "Knut war gestern" (Knut is yesterday's bear) on posters for the city's metropolitan region. These posters were displayed at numerous bus and train stops all over the city.Dubbed "Flocke fever" by the press (similar to the "Knutmania" from the previous year), the cub's popularity soared in early 2008. Her image has been used for games, diaries, soft toys, DVDs, postcards and other items. The first product released, a Flocke-based board game that was released in February, was made by the Fuerth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
-based firm Noris-Spiele, a unit of Georg Reulein GmbH & Co. KG. The well-known toy company Steiff began selling a variety of Flocke stuffed animals the following May. The income from the merchandise is currently going towards the zoo and to species survival programs.
Later publicity
In April 2008, the zoo decreased human interaction with the cub, hoping that one day she could coexist with members of her species and not be dependent on humans. Becoming more independent from her keepers, Flocke was reported often playing happily on her own. She was given a plastic "dummy", similar to a child's teething ring, tied to the bars on the inside of her stable door to suckle on while resting. This suckling caused the cub's nose to appear bent; her muzzle remained in this shape for some time before returning to normal.At the age of six months, it was reported that Flocke, whose diet at the time consisted mostly of a kilogram of beef, assorted vegetables and a liter of puppy milk a day, was at the correct weight for her development at 45 kilograms (99.2 lb). The zoo's vet, Bernhard Neurohr, also remarked upon the bear's sweet tooth, stating that "Flocke is very enthusiastic about grapes, melon, kiwi fruit and pears", with a particular fondness for bananas.
United Nations Environment Program chief Achim Steiner became Flocke's official patron in May 2008. By assuming this role, Steiner acknowledged Nuremberg Zoo's efforts towards local climate protection, stating "I am happy to have been asked to become 'godfather' to Nuremberg's polar bear cub Flocke. I sincerely hope that during her lifetime we will be able to implement a global green economy."
In June 2008, a new poster campaign featuring Flocke was announced; its goal was strengthening public awareness of individuals' ability to protect Earth's climate. Sponsored by the Nuremberg Zoo in conjunction with the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region, the poster showed Flocke and the phrase "Klimaschutz beginnt vor Ort" ("Climate Protection Begins At Home"). The zoo also published a pocket-sized brochure featuring Flocke. Entitled "Little Guide to Climate Protection", it taught visitors how to decrease their carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions. The Nuremberg Zoo announced in September that it had reached its one millionth visitor for 2008—two months earlier than last year. Although ticket sales for the year increased due to Flocke's popularity, the numbers did not match high expectations. The same month it was announced that the cub, now weighing 60 kilograms (132.3 lb), would no longer have lunchtime breaks in her stable, and would remain in the enclosure throughout the day.
Rasputin and move to France
In late November 2008, Flocke's mother Vera gave birth to two cubs, who were fathered by Flocke's father, Felix. Although Vera was able to care for the new cubs without assistance from zoo keepers, Director Dag Encke initially stated that the cubs had a 50 percent chance of survival. Three weeks after their birth was reported, both cubs died of natural causes within one week of each other. Encke expressed regret after the second cub's death, stating that "Vera nursed regularly and the young animal always slept well afterwards, so it seemed certain that it received enough milk. The reason that the young animal wasted away so quickly is not known."A male polar bear cub named Rasputin was relocated from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to the Nuremberg Zoo in December 2008 for what was thought to be an extended stay before his permanent move to a zoo in Madrid
Zoo Aquarium de Madrid
The Madrid Zoo Aquarium is a zoo and aquarium in Madrid, Spain. It is located in the Casa de Campo. The Zoo is property of the City Council, but it is managed by the international entertainment operator Parques Reunidos...
. Originally meant to remain in Germany for only a year, the male bear—called "Raspi" by fans—shared Flocke's enclosure. The zoo hoped that Rasputin, who unlike Flocke was raised by his mother, would teach their celebrity bear how to interact with those of her own species. According to a statement given by the city, the bears "get along famously".
On October 21, 2009, the city of Nuremberg announced that Flocke and Rasputin would move together to a newly constructed enclosure at Marineland
Marineland (Antibes)
Marineland is an animal exhibition park in Antibes, France. It was founded in 1970 by Roland de la Poype. First, it was a small oceanarium with a few pools and animals but now it is one of the biggest in the world and receives more than 1,200,000 visitors per year...
, located in Antibes
Antibes
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, at the beginning of 2010. Due to the close relationship between the two adolescent bears, officials from the European Conservation Breeding Program (Europäischen Erhaltungszucht-Programms, or "EEP") decided that the two bears should remain together despite earlier plans for Rasputin to relocate to Madrid alone. The enclosure they are vacating in Nuremberg will be utilized by Flocke's parents, Vera and Felix, in the hopes that they will produce more cubs. Despite last minute efforts by the animal right's group PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
to halt the move based on concerns for Flocke and Rasputin's well-being, the two bears arrived safely in France on 22 April 2010.