Friday, March 2, 2012

Watch baby polar bear Siku on the webcam


(9-11am EST is best viewing, replays highlights during off hours)

LIVE CAMERA TO FEATURE SIKU THE POLAR BEAR CUB
AS AN AMBASSADOR FOR HIS WILD COUSINS

Scandinavian Wildlife Park, Explore.org and Polar Bears International Partner to
Bring Daily Live Footage of the Danish Cub to a Global Audience
Siku was born November 22, 2011 to Ilka, the female bear at SWP. The park decided to hand-raise him after his mother failed to produce milk. The name Siku is the most common word for “sea ice” in all Eskimo/Inuit languages, from Chukotka to Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. His name is symbolic because wild polar bears are 100% dependent on sea ice for their survival. Polar bears catch all their prey from the sea ice, so no sea ice - no polar bears. Due to global warming the sea ice in the Arctic Sea is rapidly diminishing. The latest forecasts predict that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will disappear by mid-century unless we take action to reduce CO2.

International Polar Bear Day falls on February 27th. Polar Bears International (PBI) celebrates it as a day of awareness about polar bears and the need for action on climate change. This year, in addition to the launch of the Siku Cam, PBI invites the public to join them in “Bundling Up for Polar Bears” by turning down the heat two degrees in a show of support for polar bears and saving arctic sea ice.


(Kolind, Denmark and Los Angeles, CA) – February 27, 2012 –Siku, the little polar bear cub that captured the world’s attention days after his birth in November at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Denmark, will be featured on a daily live high-definition video feed. Beginning today, International Polar Bear Day, and continuing every day from 9am-11 ET, people around the world can watch the little cub’s antics, follow him as he grows up, and join in discussions about polar bears and the world in which we live at explore.org/siku and polarbearcam.com.

Created as an educational tool to inspire actions that better the planet, the Siku Cam is a collaborative effort amongst the world-renowned Scandinavian Wildlife Park (SWP), Polar Bears International (PBI), the world’s leading polar bear conservation group, and explore.org, a philanthropic media organization and multi-media arm of The Annenberg Foundation.

The daily video feed and corresponding highlights are intended to further the notion that organizers have dubbed “Siku’s Wish”- that people everywhere reduce their carbon footprint to save the arctic ice and all the species which depend on it for survival. The cam will not disrupt Siku’s regular schedule or introduce anything foreign into his environment, such as extra lights or noise. Frank Vigh-Larsen, the SWP’s director, sees Siku’s role as that of an ambassador for action on climate issues. “Our goal with the Siku Cam is to create awareness and inspire change,” he said. “And we are resolute that his image may only be used to advance those ends.”

For explore.org, the Siku Cam is the latest addition to its Pearls of the Planet initiative, a portfolio of live video feeds installed around the world to help people everywhere deepen their connection to nature and reflect on their role in it. “When people are inspired to fall in love with the world again, they are more likely to be better stewards of the planet,” said Charlie Annenberg, founder of explore.org and trustee of The Annenberg Foundation, which is underwriting the Siku cam.

Robert Buchanan, president and CEO of Polar Bears International, said that the project is a powerful way to inspire people to care about polar bears and the Arctic. “We’re launching the Siku Cam on International Polar Bear Day, which is a day of action on climate change,” he says. “Our goal with the Siku Cam is for people to fall in love with this little cub and become inspired to reduce their carbon footprint to help save arctic sea ice.”