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.

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.