A star is born: meet Anori the polar bear, Knut's half-sibling

LOVERS of small furry animals should start getting used to 'Anori'. That's the name zookeepers at Wuppertal in western Germany have given to a polar bear born two weeks ago and still the size of guinea pig.

Why the fuss? Because Anori is a half-sibling to the famous Knut, the polar bear cub whose death last year provoked tears and controversy worldwide.

It is still not clear whether Anori – a Greenlandic Eskimo word meaning 'wind' – is a boy or a girl, because zookeepers have not been able to get close enough to have a look.  "I think it's a girl but we can only speculate at the moment," said zoo vet Arne Lawrenz.

The good news is that Anori is being fed and coddled by its mother, Vilma. In that respect, says Der Spiegel, the tiny cub is luckier than Knut, who was rejected by his mother Tosca and, against the advice of some animal welfare types, had to be hand-reared at Berlin Zoo.

Knut and Anori, thankfully, do not share a mother but they do have the same father, Lars, who lives at Berlin Zoo.

The public will not get to see Anori for several weeks. "If everything goes well it won't come out of the cave with its mother until April," Wuppertal zoo said in a statement. "Until then, complete peace is essential."

There is already a touch of sadness to Anori's story because its twin died a week after the 4 January birth. According to The Times, the dead cub was nursed by Vilma for several days before zookeepers could remove the body.

Zoo authorities are likely to take extraordinary steps to secure Anori's health and safety after the tragedy that befell its legendary half-sibling.

Knut was found dead last March having collapsed unconscious into a pool after suffering from a brain defect. He had been bullied by the three females with whom he shared his enclosure – one of whom was his mother. ·