Germany names new polar bear cub Snowflake

Fri Jan 18, 12:45 PM ET

Germany named its latest furry superstar "Flocke," or "Snowflake" on Friday, sending the media into a frenzy which echoed "Knut-mania" in Berlin last year.

A naming competition for the nearly six-week-old polar bear cub launched by the city of Nuremberg received 50,000 emails, causing a server meltdown at the zoo as entries flooded in from around the globe.

Nuremberg mayor Ulrich Maly said the jury had received suggestions from India, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and New Zealand as well as from all over Europe.

"I'm amazed by all the interest in our little bear!" said Maly at a packed news conference.

"It wasn't a romantic naming process just a logical one. It's the name the keepers gave her and we are going to keep it."

Other popular names for the cub were Sissi and Knutschi but keepers at the zoo, who are hand-rearing Flocke after her mother rejected her, are more than happy with the final decision.

The cub's keeper had last week given her the nickname Flocke, saying she was as white as snow, but the city decided to hold a naming competition in response to public demand.

"Flocke just suits her and I'm happy with that," said zoo director Dag Encke. "But we should remember she's not a cuddly toy. She's a wild animal that the zoo is protecting."

Flocke, who weighs about 3 kg, is due to make her first public appearance at the southern German zoo in April.

(Reporting by Sarah Roberts, editing by Paul Casciato)