German zoo names baby polar bear being hand-raised

The German zoo hand-raising a polar bear cub has decided to adopt her nickname permanently after asking world-wide for suggestions.

The official name for Nuremberg zoo’s celebrity baby polar bear will be Flocke, German for flake, as in snowflake.

“The most important thing leading to this decision was that was the name that the zookeepers, based on their first impressions, gave her,” Nuremberg Mayor Ulrich Maly said.

Some 50,000 name suggestions came in from around the world in emails, which also showed strong support for keeping the name Flocke, he said.

The five-week-old cub attained star status after being taken from her mother, Vera, on January 8 amid concerns that she could harm or even kill the newborn.

Keepers had spotted Vera carrying the cub around in her jaws and tossing it around her enclosure.