This winter may be cold but it certainly won't be lonely for one polar bear cub after zookeepers in the western Urals brought in a female friend to keep him company.
The female cub named Zabava, or Fun, arrived at Izhevsk Zoo from St. Petersburg in December and wasted no time in getting to know one of the park's bears called Baloo, the zoo said Thursday in an online statement.
At first Baloo was a little frightened of Fun, but the two cubs — both aged one — are becoming friendlier as they get to know each other better, the statement said.
"We hope they will mate one day, but it's too early to say now, since they only sexually mature at age five," the zoo was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency. "For now they just live their lives, and grow."
In the wild, polar bear couples don't tend to stay together for longer than a week before they separate, after which the male could seek out another mate, according to conservation organization WWF.
And for now, at least, it seems Fun and Baloo are happy to remain just friends.
Baloo has been showing Fun his favorite toys and they have also being playing games together, such as tag, the zoo said.
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