Knut’s half-brother is world’s most adorable baby polar bear

REMEMBER Knut, the world’s most famous polar bear? He has a half-brother who is just as adorable.

Supplied Editorial BEAR

JUST look at this face.

The adorable half-brother of Knut, the world’s most famous polar bear, has just made his debut.

The unnamed youngster was born in December at Germany’s Rostock Zoo, but finally took his first steps outside his den last weekend.

His keepers say he’s already being showered with love.

Look at that face ... Knut’s adorable half-brother will be named in March. Picture: Facebook/Zoo Rostock & Darwineum

Protective mum ... the new cub cuddles up to his mum, Vilma. Picture: Facebook/Zoo Rostock & Darwineum

“He is proving to be a sensation with the visitors,” zoo curator Antje Zimmermann told Express.

The six-kilogram cub is being raised by his protective mother, Vilma, who he likes to snuggle up to at bedtime.

The tiny snowball is expected to leave his birthing den permanently in March, when he will also be officially named.

Germany’s newest animal star has the same father as Knut, the polar bear who captured hearts around the world when he was born in captivity in 2006.

Knut was raised by zookeepers after his mother abandoned him at birth and became the first polar bear cub to survive past infancy at the zoo in more than 30 years.

Fans seized by “Knutmania” flocked to Berlin Zoo to catch a glimpse of the beloved animal.

GALLERY: Cute Knut, big Knut

AUTOPSY: Knut’s final hours

World famous polar bear ... Knut, just three-months-old, plays with his minder Thomas Doerflein during his first outing at Berlin's Zoologischer Garten Zoo in 2007. Picture: AFP

Tragically, Knut drowned in his enclosure’s pool in 2011 due to encephalitis, or acute swelling of the brain, aged four.

Animal activists initially accused the zoo of negligence, claiming Knut died from the stress of sharing his pen with three female polar bears.

But his full autopsy results released in January 2014 revealed he was suffering from a virus which caused the encephalitis and was on his deathbed.

Beautiful bear ... polar bear Knut drowned in his enclosure’s pool on March 19, 2011. Picture: AFP/Odd Andersen