Sea World Polar Bear Cub – Meet Mishka

Sea World is excited to announce the Polar Bear cub born at the world-class Polar Bear Shores name is Mishka, which is Inuit and Russian for ‘Little Bear’.

Mishka was chosen from a list of four names which paid homage to her mum, Liya’s Russian and dad, Hudson’s Inuit heritage with nearly 30,000 people voting in the naming-competition on the Sea World website.

The three-and-a-half month old cub is doing really well and is continuing to grow in size and confidence under the watchful eye of Liya.

Polar Bear Shores Supervisor, Tacha Mulligan said the team was overwhelmed by the response to the naming competition and they are thrilled with the name Mishka.

“Mishka is a great name for the adorable little cub as it has heritage in both the Russian and Inuit cultures which ties in nicely to her parents Liya and Hudson,” she said.

“The cub is becoming quite the inquisitive little bear and the name Mishka really suits her personality which is starting to be displayed as she explores her home at Polar Bear Shores.

“We hope that by the public helping name her, they will now be inspired to follow her development and learn about the threats facing her wild counterparts and how they can assist in helping protect the species.

 “She is continuing to grow significantly in size and is enjoying exploring Cub Kindy where she spends her time with mum interacting with solid foods, toys and playing in the ice.

“Her strength has also developed to a stage where we expect she will make her public debut in the coming weeks, though this will be determined by mum Liya when she thinks the cub is ready.”

The Polar Bears at Sea World are ambassadors for their species and play a vital role in raising awareness of the effects of global warming. Current research indicates that Polar Bear numbers in the wild are declining, with 20,000 – 25,000 bears remaining worldwide.