Zoo Juniors

Today in Berlin, the tables are turned in the leopard cub enclosure. The threatened and rare species is making life difficult for the humans. Outside, a litter of piglets has their keeper surrounded and, deep in the city, a lone wolf cub prowls, protected by the pack.

Berlin is full of young animals learning new skills. How to fish, how to climb and how to defend one's self... even against your own sister. The sea lions are being taught manners and tricks to perform in public and the lion twins are natural performers. All they need to learn is how to be nice to their humans.

There are new Zoo Juniors every day in Berlin but a mother's love isn't always guaranteed. No matter how cute you are, some zoo juniors are "only children" with very protective relations. Others have to fend off the boisterous appetites of their family to ensure they get their share of zoo treats.

There are many tales to tell at the Zoo and the long and the short of it is, you have to learn to stand on your own four feet. When relations back home are threatened, you have to do your bit to raise awareness to save your species and if mom is nervous about letting you out to play, it's best to stick together and not attract unwanted attention.

You can't beat life as a Zoo Junior. Berlin has 5-star spa facilities to meet even the toughest species' desires. There are sweet treats in store for mother and cub in the sunbears' exclusive accommodation and outside in the spacious grounds, the South American guanacos get their first experience of Berlin hospitality.

A mother's love is every baby's desire. For the lemurs, that means mom scares off all the males to have her baby all to herself. For Rhino mom Betty, love means the next two years dedicated to raising her latest calf. For a long-eared goat twin, winning mom's love is a constant struggle. Mom has a favorite and it's going to be a long, hard battle for this Zoo Junior to win her over.

Today in Berlin, a new sea lion pup is on display and she looks like she'll be a real performer. In the big cat house, two tiny bear cats get a well deserved treat. They've struggled to thrive but now they'll be piling on the calories. In the nocturnal house, an orphaned aardvark receives more care and attention than the average Zoo Junior normally gets.

Every day provides new treats when you're a Zoo Junior. The young fishing cats get a taste of red meat, the new giraffe calves have great expectations for their first trip beyond the stable yard and the Red Husum pigs have exhausted their mother, so they're moving on to hot meals instead of milk.

Zoo life has lots of advantages. You get to play with relations you never knew you had. Your keepers might turn out to be naughty school boys and try to get you into trouble with mum. Life can be a blissful round of climbing and eating and experienced Zoo Juniors take it all in stride.

Every Zoo Junior is precious. Some are born with special status like the Shetland pony foal. Others are royalty in their keeper's eyes and enjoy treats beyond their dreams. Some, like the dromedary camels are literally worth their weight in gold. They're all aristocrats of the zoo world in their own way.