The offspring of two polar bears in Gemany's Nuremberg Zoo will be left to develop according to nature, it has been revealed.
According to the BBC, the zoo will not intervene even if the mothers reject the cubs, to avoid a similar situation to last year hand reared cub Knut from Berlin Zoo last year, who gained much publicity.
Deputy zoo head Helmut Maegdefrau has indicated that keepers will instead allow nature to take its course.
He said: "We should have faith in nature and accept that sometimes with new mothers things just don't work out.
"If you don't let the mothers practice, they will never learn how to bring up their cubs."
Last year, the popularity of hand reared Knut saw an influx of two million visitors to the zoo, in addition to the offer of a Hollywood movie role.
However, officials at Nuremburg Zoo seem keen to allow tourists to see the cubs develop in their natural habitat.
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