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| Milak - always having fun with her toys |
Polar Bear cub Milak made history when Mother Victoria and her baby's antics were streamed worldwide from Aalborg Zoo in Denmark in the world's first polar bear dencam in December of 2008.
Eisbärbaby Milak schrieb Geschichte, als Mutter Victoria und ihr Baby Eskapaden wurden gestreamt weltweit von Aalborg Zoo in Dänemark in der ersten Eisbären DenCam im Dezember 2008.
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| Milak at age 2, with her mother Victoria, in happier days |
An early DNA test showed that the cub was boy. We have just learned the results of a second DNA test. Milak, as it turns out, is a girl!
(Correction: The zoo did not do a second DNA test, but a physical exam by a veterinarian, to confirm that Milak is a female. But the results are the same.)
(Correction: The zoo did not do a second DNA test, but a physical exam by a veterinarian, to confirm that Milak is a female. But the results are the same.)
Eine frühe DNA-Test ergab, dass das Baby ein Männchen war. Wir haben gerade die Ergebnisse einer zweiten DNA-Test gelernt. Milak, wie sich herausstellt, ist ein Mädchen!
(Korrektur: Der Zoo nicht machen einen zweiten DNA-Test, aber eine körperliche Untersuchung durch einen Tierarzt, um zu bestätigen, dass ein Weibchen ist Milak Aber die Ergebnisse sind die gleichen.).
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| Milak at age 2. You can see her spot on her head. |
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| Milak, age 2, plays with her bucket, while mother Victoria supervises. |
Milak was born December 7, 2008, in Aalborg Zoo, to mother Victoria and father Felix (who is now in Nuremburg Tiergarten). The cub was given the name Milak, which is Greenlandic for “stain,” for the dark birthmark on her head. You can still see the mark.
Milak wurde geboren 7. Dezember 2008, im Aalborg Zoo, von Mutter Victoria und Vater Felix (dieser ist jetzt wieder im Tiergarten Nürnberg ). Das Junge erhielt den Namen Milak , die grönländischen Bezeichnung ist für "Fleck" wegen des dunklen *Muttermals * auf dem Kopf . Man kann es immer noch genau erkennen.
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| Milak in September 2013 - almost 5 years old |
The zookeepers and others (including me) have suspected for awhile that Milak was not a boy. At almost age 5 years, Milak is small and rather pretty and delicate in her features. Malik is not aggressive, as older male bear cubs are. In fact Milak's mother Victoria chases her cub away and Milak runs away from mum. The zoo, for the most part, keeps Victoria and Milak separate to keep things peaceful. Milak gets along well with the other lady bear, Malik, and has not shown the romantic interest that a four year old boy bear would.
Die Tierpfleger und andere (mich eingeschlossen) haben für eine Weile vermutet, dass Milak nicht ein Junge war. Auch im Alter von fast 5 Jahren, ist Milak klein und ziemlich hübsch und zart in den *Gesichtszügen* . Malik ;die andere weibliche Bärin ist nicht aggressiv, wie vielleicht ältere männliche Jungbären erwarten . In der Tat Milak's Mutter Victoria jagt ihr Junges weg und Milak läuft weg von Mama. Der Zoo, zum größten Teil, hält Victoria und Milak getrennt, um die Dinge friedlich zu gestalten. Milak versteht sich gut mit der anderen Eisbärin Malik, und hat nicht das romantische Interesse, dass ein vier Jahre alter Junge eventuel hätte zeigen können.
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| Milak (left) and Malik (right) having a play fight. They are good friends get along well. |
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| Victoria has rejected daughter Milak, and chases her. Afraid, Milak runs away from her mother. They are usually kept apart. |
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| Victoria, higher, intimidates Milak. These four photos were taken in early September. The keepers were trying to see if the three bears could get along. |
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| Milak is afraid of Victoria. The barrier between the two enclosures is usually closed, but the keepers have been experimenting to see if the three bears could live together in peace. Bossy Victoria seems to be saying "no way." |
Aalborg Zoo may need to send the bears to another zoo temporarily in order to make repairs to the enclosure, and Milak may move to another zoo permanently, so it was time to find out.
Aalborg Zoo können müssen, um den Bären zu einem anderen Zoo vorübergehend zu schicken, um Reparaturen an dem Gehäuse zu machen, und Milak kann an einen anderen Zoo permanent bewegen, so war es Zeit, das herauszufinden.
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| Milak sitting in her favorite place. Some people think she is waiiting to order dinner. Some think she is driving her race car. |
During the time Milak was unconscious, the veterinarian fixed a broken tooth and removed a splinter from her mouth. The keepers and the veterinarian also took a look to see whether Milak was a girl or boy.
Während der Zeit Milak bewusstlos war, fixiert der Tierarzt einen gebrochenen Zahn und entfernt einen Splitter aus dem Maul . Die Pfleger und der Tierarzt riskierten auch einen Blick um zu sehen, ob es ein Mädchen oder Junge war.
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| Milak on top of the mountain |
The results are back. Milak is a girl. This is very good news, because it means that Miss Milak has many zoos who would be happy to giver her a home. It is harder to find a place for a boy bear. Milak is now an important part of the polar bear breeding program.
Die Ergebnisse sind zurück. Milak ist weiblichen Geschlechts. Dies ist eine sehr gute Nachricht , denn es bedeutet, dass es für Milak nun viele Zoos geben kann, die ihr ein Heim werden können . Es ist immer sehr schwieriger, einen Platz für einen männlichen Eisbär zu finden. Milak ist nun seit heute ein wichtiger Teil des Eisbären Zuchtprogramms geworden
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| Three ladies: Milak (walking) with Malik and the late Augo. After Mother Victoria rejected Milak, she found a new family with Malik and her daughter Augo. The cubs Milak and Augo were happy playmates, and Malik allowed the older cub to play with her cub. At thetime, the zoo believed that both cubs were boys. |
Milak is the half-sister of the famous Flocke, and the twins Gregor and Aleut, born in Nuremburg Tiergarten but now the popular stars of the Warsaw Zoo. Milak's half sister Augo, who was also mistakenly thought to be a boy, died in a tragic accident at Aalborg Zoo last spring, and is greatly missed. Milak and Augo were great playmates, and had a lot of fun together.
Milak ist die Halbschwester der berühmten *Flocke *, und der Zwillinge *Gregor und Aleut* im Nürnberger Tiergarten geboren, aber jetzt sind die beliebten Stars umgezogen in den Warschauer Zoo in Polen. Milak 's Halbschwester Augo , von dem auch fälschlicherweise gedacht wurde , ein Junge zu sein , Augo starb bei einem tragischen Unfall im Aalborg Zoo im letzten Frühjahr am 4.Mai 2013 und wird sehr vermisst. Milak und Augo waren großartige Spielkameraden, und hatten immer eine Menge Spaß zusammen.
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| Milak and her crazy swimming antics have made her a favorite attraction at the Aalborg Zoo. |
Milak is also famous for her creative use of toys, and there are some popular vides on You-Tube of Milak playing with tubes, tires, and buckets. She is a You-Tube sensation.
Milak ist auch für den kreativen Einsatz von Spielzeug berühmt, und es gibt einige beliebte Videos auf You-Tube von Milak spielend mit Schläuchen, Reifen und Eimern- Für die Zuschauer ist es immer ein You-Tube Sensation.
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| Silly Milak having fun |
Another interesting and affectionately written article by you with lots of background information. . . . I am sure I should know lots of the information given, as e.g. Frans, and Caren, and people of Nuremberg certainly had told lots of details earlier. But as my memory is so bad and there are so many of our beloved favorite animals, I constantly forget lots of what I read and saw before, and such it's good to get again and again 'new' information about the various protagonists once in a while. I am also always puzzled about "MILAK" and "MALIK", and I believe there is even a third name, very familiar to those two . .
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I didn't get wuite right is, why did you write:
"Milak at age 2, with her mother Victoria, IN HAPPIER days"?
MILAK looks rather happy to me in your pictures.
Thanks once again, dear Molly.
Dear Dumba,
DeleteThank you so much. The Aalborg bears are so special to me.
I say "in happier days" because Milak was very distressed when Victoria rejected her, and now Victoria bullies her if they are together. Milak must hide from her own mother. Aalborg Zoo has a barrier bridge that can be lowered to make two separate enclosures, or brought up to make a crossing so it becomes one big enclosure, and this is when Victoria bullies Milak. She chases Malik too.
Milak is quite happy when she is separated from Victoria, and loves to play and have fun with her friend Malik, as you can see in the pictures.
People do get confused with the two names, that are so similar. Malik was also thought to be a boy for her first two years, and has a boy's name. And yes, Augo was also thought to be a boy. Milak just means "stain" or spot, so is fine for a girl or boy. And both Malik and Milak are pronounced with the accent on the second syllable.
Dear Molly,
ReplyDeletewhat a big surprise that Malik turned out to be a girl. The same happened to the late Augo which was indeed a girl, too and which was sexed as a male before.
Indeed, it seems to be not so easy to determine the sex correctly at a very early age. But I do not understand that the two DNA tests present to different result. That leaves a big question mark to me.
Thank you for your very informative report and also for all the wonderful fotos.
Wishing you a great Sunday!
Hugs, from caren
Dear Caren.
DeleteIt was a big surprise in a way, but I have thought for a long time that Milak was a young lady bear, because of her lack of aggressive behavior, her multi-tasking with her toys, and that she is small and doesn't really look very boyish. I talked to the zookeepers, and they were thinking the same thing.
They think there might have been a mix up at the lab with Milak's first DNA test, but don't really know. With Augo, they pulled hairs to send in for a DNA test, but the hairs did not have enough DNA on them to test. It is hard to tell with young bears by looking, especially when they are screaming and squirming.
Now we must wait and see where Milak will go. Her fans at Aalborg want her to stay, but it is a difficult situation with Victoria, as you can see in my pictures. I do love Victoria too. She is a lovely bear.
Bear hugs,
Molly
Dear Caren,
DeleteAnd now I have found out from someone at the zoo that they did not need to do a DNA test this time, because the vet could tell from the examination to make it official that Milak is a female.
Molly
Hallo Mary,
ReplyDeleteI'm Heidi from Erlangen, we met last year at Nürnberg Zoo. We enjoyed for a day Felix' two boys Gregor and Aleut. I'm really not surprised that Milak is a girl, she is so pretty! Well, our beloved polar bear man Felix always makes pretty girls - look at our dear Flocke, down in Southern France. And Gregor and Aleut are such handsome boys, when they are grown up, they will be as magnificent as her handsome father and her beautiful Mom Vera!
Love, Heidi
Dear Heidi,
DeleteIt is so nice to hear from you. We did have a lovely day at Nuremburg Zoo, with our dear Felix, Vera, and the two handsome boys. I have to agree, Felix does make beautiful daughters: Flocke, Augo and Milak.
There is something magical in the way that so many good friends have met with our polar bears. I hope to see you again in Nuremburg when I come again next year, and hopefully, there will be cubs. If Vera and Felix make it so!