Polar bear Knut’s female companion Giovanna steals the show in Berlin

Polar bear Knut’s friend Giovanna meets the press

BERLIN — Giovanna, the new companion of Berlin’s favorite polar bear, Knut, has star quality as well.

The female polar bear from Munich delighted photographers and visitors at the Berlin zoo Wednesday by plunging into her pool for a swim while exploring her outside enclosure for the first time — but without Knut.

Berlin zoo spokesman Heiner Kloes says that “Giovanna has to get used to her new environment and get a grip on her nerves” before she meets superstar Knut in public.

However, out of the limelight the two have already sniffed each other.

The Munich zoo is renovating its enclosure and Giovanna needed a temporary home.

Knut rose to stardom when he was hand-raised by zoo keepers after his mother rejected him at birth.