Berlin zoo unveils name of latest polar bear cub
BERLIN — It's Hertha.
Berlin's Tierpark Zoo has unveiled the much-anticipated name of its new star attraction, a 4-month-old polar bear cub.
Hertha, born on Dec. 1, is named after the German capital's eponymous top league soccer club, which is sponsoring the animal.
The club's mascot — a brown bear — presented a ball with the cub's name at the zoo Tuesday. Then mother, Tonja, and daughter gamboled into the enclosure to the delight of the assembled photographers.
Polar bear cub Hertha rolls around in her enclosure after she was given her name on April 2, 2019 at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin. - The female cub was born at the zoo on December 1, 2018, and is sponsored by Berlin's football team Hertha BSC. (Photo b
Hertha played ball for the cameras, literally, before accidentally kicking it into the deep end of the moat. In a display of motherly love, Tonja retrieved the ball.
Berlin's last celebrity polar bear, Knut, died prematurely from illness in 2011 at age 4. Several cubs born since failed to reach maturity.
Polar bear cub Hertha plays with a ball after she was given her name on April 2, 2019 at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin. - The female cub was born at the zoo on December 1, 2018. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/