Wilbär (10 December 2007 – November 2024) was a polar bear who was born in captivity at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Wilbär made his first public appearance on April 16, 2008, swimming alongside his mother. His name came from combining the name of the zoo with the German word for bear (Bär).Patrick McGroarty, "Stuttgart Zoo Loses a Bird, Gains a Polar Bear", Der Spiegel 29 February 2008. Zoo officials have registered the name as a trademark.
Sweden In May 2009, Wilbär left Wilhelma Zoo and was shipped to Orsa Grönklitt wildlife park in Sweden."Stuttgart polar bear Wilbär headed to Sweden" The Local 15 May 2009. There he is paired with Ewa, from the Rotterdam Zoo, and received many gifts from Germany on his birthday.Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "Wilbär ein Jahr in Schweden - Kein Interesse an Sex", Reutlinger General-Anzeiger 7 May 2010 In spring of 2011, zoo officials thought Ewa might be pregnant.Michael Gerster, "Wilbär wird vielleicht Vater", Stuttgarter Nachrichten, updated 22 March 2011 Wilbär's first female cub, Miki, was born in December of 2013. Two twin cubs, Noori and Nanook, were born in November of 2021.
Netherlands On March 12, 2022, Wilbär was transferred to the Dierenrijk Zoo in Nuenen, Netherlands. He died there in mid-November 2024."Eisbär Wilbär in Eindhoven gestorben", Stuttgarter Zeitung, updated 22 November 2024
See also List of individual bears
References
External links Wilbär Tagebuch on the Wilhelma website