First polar bear born in UK for 25 years given name after public vote
Written by News on 27/04/2018
The first polar bear born in the UK for 25 years has been called Hamish after more than 33,000 people took part in a public vote.
The male cub, now four months old, was born in a special enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie in the week before Christmas.
His mother, Victoria, mated with Arktos – one of two male bears at the park.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) drew up a shortlist of four names – Hamish, Artor, MacKinnon and Poulsen.
Hamish was the runaway winner, claiming 21,000 of the 33,000 votes cast.
The park’s head of living collections, Douglas Richardson, said it was “clear from the first day of voting” that the eventual winner would be most popular.
It was an “ideal” name for a “polar bear born in the Highlands”, the zoological society said.
Mr Richardson said the park was “delighted to have been able to engage with so many people”.
He added: “Conservation is at the heart of what we do and Hamish’s story is hopefully helping to raise awareness of the threats polar bears are facing in the wild as a result of climate change and more direct human activities.”
The RZSS said the birth was an “outstanding achievement”.
(c) Sky News 2018: First polar bear born in UK for 25 years given name after public vote
