ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An orphaned polar cub is making its temporary home at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage.

United States (US) Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Bruce Woods says the bear's mother was killed on March 12 near Point Lay on Alaska's north-west coast, but it wasn't immediately clear if the shooting was subsistence or defene 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 8kg.

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.