Sea World polar bear cub Henry had a wonderful time opening his Christmas gifts a little early

IT may come close to 30C on the Gold Coast today but it was a white Christmas for Henry the polar bear cub this morning.

Henry the polar bear cub with a watermelon. Pic: Jack Harbour

IT may come close to 30C on the Gold Coast today but it was a white Christmas for Henry, Sea World's polar bear cub, who enjoyed tearing apart his presents this morning.

The 57kg cub tucked into a watermelon as eager guests looked on to get a glimpse of the playful bear in action.

Cub Henry and mum Leah opened their Christmas presents a little early this year, tucking into a breakfast of fish, meat, fruit and popularly, whole watermelons.

Guests were ushered in and out of the viewing area that looked out over Henry's play pen where he can take a dip in chilled water, play on ice or retire to his air conditioned rooms.

Sea World's baby Polar Bear Henry celebrates his very first Christmas at Polar Pre-School with his mum Leah. Pics Adam Head

Jim Shaw travelled to the Gold Coast with his wife from Caboolture to check-up on Henry and said he was staggered by how much the cub had grown since his last visit.

"It's great to see something like this," he said.

"He's in a pretty natural habitat.

"It's marvellous how all that ice stays there for so long.

"We saw him when he was half that size about two months ago."

Sea World's baby Polar Bear Henry celebrates his very first Christmas at Polar Pre-School with his mum Leah. Pics Adam Head

Henry weighs about 57 kilograms at the moment and polar bear handler Kerrie Gaskin said she was happy with the seven and a half month-old's progress, but said she did not expect the youngster to be quite as capable.

"It's really surprising to see he is so sturdy and strong," she said.

Henry is currently gaining about one kilogram of weight every day and with his mother the pair eat roughly 34kg of food per day, plus Henry's milk and extra treats.

He will have to learn a lot before he comes completely independent of Leah.

The park handler said Henry is likely to become independent when he is between 18 months and two years old.

Sea World's baby Polar Bear Henry celebrates his very first Christmas at Polar Pre-School with his mum Leah. Pics Adam Head

Opening his Christmas presents was part of the learning experience for the cub who is gradually finding out what is edible, what is not, and how to play with certain toys.

Louise Hume and her husband Shane from Brisbane brought their three-and-a-half year old daughter Scarlett to Sea World yesterday to watch Henry playing.

"Henry's our favourite," Mrs Hume said.

"We saw him when he was a baby.

"We were only here four weeks ago.

"Even four weeks ago, I don't think he was that big."

Sea World's baby Polar Bear Henry celebrates his very first Christmas at Polar Pre-School with his mum Leah (who just can't watch anymore). Pics Adam Head