Concerns are being raised by the World Wildlife Fund about the nurturing of the world’s latest hand reared polar bear, who made her first public appearance at Nuremberg Zoo yesterday. 4 week old ‘Flocke’, meaning snowflake, took her first swim in front of a swarm of the world’s photographers, but fears abound for how the cub will be nurtured in captivity.
The previous German hand reared polar cub ‘Knut’, is now overweight, with no partner, and spends his days standing on his hind legs playing to the zoo crowds. German lawyer Ralf Bossi has now been drafted in to challenge Nuremberg Zoo to uphold the countries animal protection law. This law states that animals reared in captivity should be done so in a manner that is conducive to the way they would be nurtured in the wild.
Flocke and Knut were both separated from their respective parents after fears for their safety escalated. It is not uncommon for a female Polar bear to kill and eat her young if they are ill or refuse food. Both cubs were removed from their mother’s enclosure after being rejected and being viciously thrown around.
Keeping Polar bears in captivity is a major talking point for animal welfare groups around the world. Some argue that human intervention saves the life of the cub, yet others argue that the bears become too dependent on human interaction, forcing their natural instincts to become alien to them.
Berlin Zoo has allegedly made nearly 5million Euros in merchandise from Knut, including the sale of film rights to make an animated story about Knut’s life. But with Knut now living the isolated life of a circus sideshow, is this the future we can now expect to see for Flocke? My question is:-
are the polar bear cubs being raised for the good of nature, or for the good of raising capital?
