ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An orphaned polar cub is making its temporary home at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Bruce Woods says the bear’s mother was killed March 12 near Point Lay on Alaska’s northwest coast, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the shooting was subsistence or defence related.

Woods says the man who shot the bear brought the cub to Point Lay, and it was ultimately transferred to Anchorage for care.

The cub is about 3 or 4 months old and weighs just over 18 pounds (8 kilograms).

The bear isn’t currently on display. The wildlife service will eventually place the cub somewhere else since the Alaska Zoo already has two polar bears.

Point Lay residents ask the bear be named Kali, the Inupiat name for their city.