Cue the squealing and cooing! Here's a video of a baby polar bear taking his very first steps -- wobbles and all:
The cute-as-a-button cub was born on Nov. 9, according to a Toronto Zoo media release.
He was reportedly one of three male cubs born to mama polar bear Aurora that day. Sadly, however, the cub's two siblings did not survive their first 48 hours of life.
The remaining cub, who had exhibited signs of physical weakness in the few days following his birth, has since been under the watchful care of the Toronto Zoo staff -- and thankfully, is said to be healthy and "quite active."
"Our Wildlife Care Team has been working around the clock to look after this special cub. We are very happy with his progress so far. We hope that he will grow up to become another ambassador for his species, highlighting threats to the arctic environment," said Dr. Graham Crawshaw, senior veterinarian at the zoo, per the release.
Polar bears are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Conservationists have warned that the effects of climate change on polar ice may dramatically reduce the number of polar bears in the wild in the next few decades, with the IUCN estimating that more than 30 percent of the species may be gone by the 2050s. Unsustainable hunting, as well as oil and gas exploration in the Arctic will also likely continue to contribute to dwindling polar bear numbers, according the World Wildlife Fund.
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