Young polar bear enjoying cold snap

The cold snap may have brought misery to commuters and travellers, but one Highlands resident was certainly enjoying the snow.

Walker the polar bear was celebrating his second birthday with a special snowman.

One of two polar bears in the UK, Walker was brought to Scotland from Holland last month.

Keepers at his home in the Highlands Wildlife Park near Kingussie gave him a snowman filled with his favourite foods to wish him many happy returns.

Douglas Richardson, animal collection manager at the park, said the young bear had been enjoying playing in the snow, so he decided to give him a present “he could really get his teeth into”.

He said: “Walker is a ball of energy on any normal day, so for his birthday we wanted to give him some excitement that he could really get his teeth into.

“His favourite toys are normally traffic cones and umbrella stands, but he has been making the most of the recent snowfall so we thought he would appreciate a more solid snow structure to appreciate – or destroy.”

Walker was brought to Scotland from Rhenen Zoo in Holland as a companion for Mercedes the polar bear.

When he nears sexual maturity in the next two to three years he will be moved to a new enclosure and will be the park’s future breeding male.

Mercedes was the only polar bear in the UK for 13 years until Walker arrived from Holland.

The 28-year-old female was initially hostile to the young upstart, but keepers said she has “settled down” since his arrival.

Mr Richardson said: “Mercedes and Walker are not the best of pals, but they are living amicably in the same enclosure now, which is a good result given the age difference of the two bears.

“Walker is very respectful of Mercedes at the moment – he appreciates she is not quite as playful as he is.”

Mercedes was rescued from her native Canada in the 1980s and brought to Scotland after she was due to be shot because she had been roaming into a town in search of food.