Spectacled Bear Cub Ventures Outside For The First Time
June 05, 2013
A Spectacled Bear cub, born recently at Zoo Antwerpen in Belgium, ventured outside, into its enclosure for the first time. The youngster wasted little time exploring all the the exhibit has to offer, sniffing out every square inch and even bravely testing its claws by climbing the many trees in what it now calls home. The cub is making a name for itself as quite the daredevil and is already being called "a little rascal" its keepers.
Photo Credits: Jonas Verhulst / Zoo Antwerpen
The baby was born recently to mother Zamora and father Gladstone, and until now has spent all of its time in its den with Mum. Because of this, keepers have yet to be able to determine the sex of the youngster. However, this hasn't stopped them from getting a jump on the naming process. Keepers have selected three potential names if the baby is a boy (Olivier, Orson and Oberon), and three potential names if its a girl (Olivia, Ona and Onora). The public has the opportunity to vote for their favorite name here.
See and learn much more after the fold!
Spectacled Bears get their name from the blonde patches of fur they have around their eyes. Native to South America, they can be found through much of the North Western areas of the continent. Though technically omnivorous, this bear species gets most of its nutrition from vegetarian sources. This diet leads them to spend much of their time up in the trees searching for food, and thus, they tend to be very skilled climbers.