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WATCH: Polar bears Victoria and Arktos cuddle up in Highlands snow at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park


By Gavin Musgrove

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Polar bears Arktos and Victoria have been caught together on camera as Valentine’s Day approaches at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park.

Staff at the wildlife conservation charity have just brought the pair back together again at the attraction by Kincraig and are encouraged by how well they are getting on so far.

They have been reintroduced as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme.

A RZSS spokesperson said: "Hopes are high as the couple have already successfully bred once before in 2017, with Victoria giving birth to Hamish, the first polar bear cub born in the UK for 25 years."

Victoria and Arktos have been getting reacquainted.
Victoria and Arktos have been getting reacquainted.

He left the attraction last year for his new home near Doncaster at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, where he will also hopefully set about boosting the polar bear population.

Until his departure in November, last year, Hamish had shared a large enclosure with his mother Victoria.

He had reached the age when mothers and their cubs would separate naturally in the wild.

The move also paved the way to allow 23-year-old Victoria to breed again and produce another cub, possibly for the last time due to her age.

Arktos and Walker share a large enclosure on the other side of the wildlife park to Victoria and are reported by their keepers to be the best of friends.

The wildlife park and Edinburgh Zoo – both owned and operated by the RZSS – have been hit hard by the economic impact of coronavirus and are currently closed to the public due to the national lockdown.

The public can help feed and care for the animals there by donating here.


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