Germany‘s oldest zoo, which maintains to the world’s largest variety of species in captivity, welcomed an adorable polar bear cub, which is expected to bring a commercial success, and restore the flow of visitors after loss of Knut ( 5.12. 2006 – 19.03 2011) bear celebrity (pictured).

Polar bear mother Tonja gave birth to her cub on December 1. The cub has finally opened its eyes and spends most of the day sleeping, cuddling and drinking.

Tonja and her cub will not leave their enclosure until the spring when they will be seen in public.

This is a cause for celebration for the Berlin Zoo, where the pair live, since its famous polar bear Knut drowned in 2011. Scientists say they can now explain what happened to Knut, A new investigation has shown that he had a type of autoimmune inflammation of the brain that is also recognised in humans.

Knut became an international celebrity, after being abandoned by his mother and then hand-raised by a zookeeper.

For a while, he was the most recognisable bear on the planet, with his face featuring regularly on TV and in newspapers, and even on the front cover of an edition of Vanity Fair magazine. He brought millions of visitors to Berlin zoo, and became a public magnet generating revenues. His sudden, inexplicable death became a blow to the zoo management, apparently they hope to start the commercial exploitation of a newly born cub in spring 2019.