Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >> Nuremberg Zoo  (click to enlarge) Keeper Petra Fritz holds the new polar bear cub at the Nuremberg Zoo. The cub opened its eyes for the first time Tuesday.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Rules of thumb were made to be broken 1/16/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Polar bear cub opens her eyes First peek shows she might be a bit cross-eyed Associated Press BERLIN -- Germany's latest famous polar bear cub opened her eyes for the first time on Tuesday -- and it appears she may be cross-eyed. Though her eyes have just opened as tiny slits, zookeeper Stefanie Krueger said it appears she is "a little crossed-eyed." However, "Flocke" -- as the keepers at the Nuremberg Zoo have dubbed the yet-to-be-named cub -- seems to be developing just fine, and veterinarian Bernhard Neurohr said he can already see her teeth shimmering through her gums. "We are cautiously optimistic that we'll succeed in hand raising her," Krueger said. The cub is bottle-fed with milk every four hours and weighs 5.64 pounds already. "By now I can distinguish her different noises and know what the little one wants," said Flocke's other keeper, Petra Fritz. "I rub her tummy, for example." Over the weekend, the 5-week-old got her own Web page, and the zoo and the city of Nuremberg say they've already received suggestions for 22,000 names. Many are traditional German names -- but among the suggestions are Snow White, Aicha and Yuki Chan. More than 2 million people had visited the site by Tuesday afternoon. In German, "Flocke" means "flake," as in snow flake. Flocke was taken from her mother, Vera, last week, amid concerns that Vera could harm or even kill the newborn. The baby won't be returned to her, a decision made after keepers spotted Vera carrying the cub around in her jaws and tossing it around her enclosure. Little more than a year ago, another polar bear club in Germany -- Knut -- was hand-raised by his keepers and became a celebrity after being rescued when his mother rejected him. He delighted thousands of visitors to Berlin's zoo who avidly followed his growth from roly-poly cub to full-grown adult. Flocke's popularity is beginning to rival Knut's, and the Nuremberg Zoo now provides daily news conferences to give updates on her condition.

1. From behind bars, pal tells Colton Harris-Moore to keep running 2. A student by day, he's homeless by night 3. Colton Harris-Moore’s mother says he’s not out in the cold 4. Vigil at Mariner High School honors two crash victims 5. Attorney’s daughter: Mom had to have deal with Tiger Woods 6. Sen. Haugen’s husband sued by her former aide 7. Korean Air to buy Boeing 747-8 passenger planes 8. Fund set up to benefit children of couple killed in crash 9. Everett approves a tribute to key figure in its history 10. Snohomish County home sales up; prices fall 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Wildcats fall to familar foe in semis • ‘Nutcracker' times three • Road warrior • Mavericks reloading • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Cities prepare for winter blast repeat • Wolfpack duo takes last shot at state tourney • This Weekend in Your Town • Tips for the stormy season • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million