When a tiny baby polar bear named Humphrey was born at the Toronto Zoo in June 2013, the world was transfixed.
Weighing just 700 grams, or roughly 1.5 pounds, Humphrey was much too small and fragile for his 800-pound mom Aurora to take care of. Instead, zookeepers intervened almost immediately, the same way that they did at the Cincinnati Zoo when a mother takin rejected her baby.
Caretakers immediately moved the tiny infant to the Wildlife Health Centre, part of their ongoing conservation efforts to help endangered animals, including polar bears.
There, he was fed seven times a day and watched around the clock, to help ensure that he would continue to survive and thrive! Before long, he was purring, “talking,” and rolling over, but he still hadn’t made it to the next big milestone: learning how to walk.
Much like little Bei Bei, the newborn panda cub that walked around the 3-month mark, Humphrey was intent on hitting his next growth spurt. After two months of loving care, Humphrey finally took his first wobbly steps!
Now, Humphrey is a big teenage bear living with a group of other adolescent polar bears in Winnipeg, but it’s hard to believe that a full-grown polar bear was once this tiny, don’t you think? Check out the adorable video below.
And if you loved seeing this tiny bear cub walking for the first time, please SHARE on Facebook for your fellow animal-lovers!
