Woburn Safari Park’s newest bear cub is given name to honour its American roots

The newest North American black bear cub at Woburn Safari Park has been named Denver.

In keeping with the naming tradition for the bears at the park, the cub has been given a name with American roots, to tie in with the bears’ wild origins in the USA.

Denver - born in February - is still yet to be sexed, as keepers operate a hands-off approach to the animals. Not knowing whether the new arrival is male or female influenced their decision to give the youngster a gender-neutral name.

Alisha Cox, carnivore keeper, said: "The whole team is delighted to see Denver growing into a confident young bear, but also to see Indiana settling into her role as a mother after being a bit uncertain to begin with.

"Everyone in the team put forward name suggestions for Indiana's cub and after a discussion we decided on Denver, which means ‘green valley’. It’s the perfect name for either a boy or a girl, and, as the capital of Colorado, fits our tradition of American-themed names perfectly."