SINGAPORE - When it came to toys, Inuka had a keen sense of what he wanted - out went the fancy customised items the zoo would import for him, in came everyday objects such as rubbish bins and tyres.

Of course, being the first polar bear born in the tropics meant there would be a few quirks, as his zookeeper Mohan Ponichamy noted in an interview with The Straits Times last Thursday (April 19).