The first sun bear born in an Australasian zoo has made her public debut in Wellington.
She has been dubbed the miracle baby because she is providing new hope for an endangered species and because her father survived surgery to restore his fertility.
They say all babies are special but the birth of the rare Malayan sun bear cub is exceptional.
Bear keeper Mandy Richards says it is extremely hard to breed these bears in captivity.
Still unnamed, the cub had been cloistered with its mother since being born in September.
The baby is the first sun bear born in captivity in Australia and is extra precious as her father, rescued from a Cambodian restaurant and brought to Wellington Zoo to breed, initially had a problem with its fertility and could not mate properly.
But an operation by Massey University vets quickly fixed that.
In some parts of the world, sun bears are farmed for human consumption.
Due to the temperamental nature of these bears, the kiwi born and bred cub will not meet the father who endured so much to give her life, for several months.
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