Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
Genetic testing has revealed that Hertha, a popular polar bear at Tierpark Berlin Zoo, is the product of an accidental breeding between siblings, according to the German zoo.
On Tuesday, the Berlin Zoo released a statement claiming that a clerical error at the Moscow Zoo left a female polar bear named Tonja listed as the daughter of the wrong parents. Tonja went on to mate with Berlin’s male polar bear Wolodja,according to CNN. The pair produced Hertha, who was born in December 2018.
The clerical error prevented the zoos from realizing that Tonja and Wolodja shared the same parents when they matched the breeding pair. Zoo officials uncovered this reality after conducting genetic testing on the polar bear family.
“This serious mistake is a very regrettable setback for the responsible work of the European Conservation Breeding Programme,” Berlin Zoo’s director, Andreas Knieriem, shared in a statement.
Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images
“If we had known about the relationship between Tonya and Wolodja, we would, of course, not have recommended the two polar bears for breeding. That was a mistake,” Knieriem wrote.
“It must now be a matter of learning from such mistakes and putting our work in all areas even more on a scientific basis,” he continued.
The bears are part of the European Endangered Species Programmes (EEP) breeding program, which works to maintain genetic diversity among polar bears in captivity. Due to the recent discovery, the zoo noted that neither Tonja nor Hertha would have offspring moving forward. Wolodja relocated to the Netherlands after Hertha’s birth.
“Our mission is to keep the genetic diversity as big as possible,” a Tierpark Berlin Zoo spokespersontold CNN, noting that Hertha is a “happy and healthy bear” and will remain at the zoo along with her mother.
source: people.com
