The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
POLAR BEAR CUB FINALLY GETS A NAME
The Highland’s newest polar bear cub has been named Hamish after receiving more than 21,000 votes in a public poll.
Hamish was one of four names shortlisted by The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland for the young male cub, up against Artor, Poulsen and MacKinnon.
Hamish was the clear winner of the social media poll, which closed at noon yesterday, receiving 21,780 votes. Meanwhile Artor obtained 8,919 votes, Poulson came in third with 3,145 and MacKinnon finished with only 2,463.
More than 36,000 votes were cast by members of the public since the vote opened last week.
Douglas Richardson, the park’s head of living collections, said: “While we knew the public vote would be very popular, to have had more than 33,000 votes and over 21,000 for Hamish alone has been incredible.
“Of the choices put forward by our keepers, it was clear from the first day of voting that Hamish was going to be the runaway win- ner and we are delighted that Victoria’s cub now has a name.
“Conservation is at the heart of what we do and Hamish’s story is hopefully helping to raise awareness of the threats polar bears are facing in the wild as a result of climate change and more direct human activities.”
The four-month-old polar bear is the first to be born in the UK in 25 years and has remained at a special enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, near Kingussie, since his birth in December.