Save the polar bear cubs!
- by: Katie Smith, on behalf of Peta2
- recipient: Nuremberg Zoo
The remaining female polar bear will officially be known as "Flocke" ("Flake," as in snowflake).
UPDATE 16/01/08
Why the zoo SHOULD have stepped in and saved the cubs - http://www.care2.com/news/member/525884267/600408
The cub is definately female but still officially unamed. She now has both her eyes open, weighs 2570 grams and is reported to be in good health. Recent videos and photos are available to view on the Nuremburg Zoo website - http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/eisbaer/ (You can use Google to translate the pages from German to English).
Recent pictures:
***ANOTHER UPDATE***
12/01/08
The remaining polar bear, possibly female, now has her own website!
http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/eisbaer/
The keepers have begun to call her Flocke - German for flake, as in snow flake but they are asking for name suggestions on the website.
FURTHER UPDATE! 08/01/08
http://www.care2.com/news/member/356245727/594321
The zoo has decided to bottle feed the remaining cub to ensure the mother doesn't harm it. This is excellent news but the petition is still continuing because we want to make sure the zoo protects all it's newborns in future.
UPDATE! 08/01/08
The cubs are missing, presumed dead, after being eaten by their mother.
http://www.care2.com/news/member/525884267/593874
The petition will go ahead but instead of asking the zoo to save the cubs it will be urging the zoo to not let anything like this happen again and to write a zoo policy to protect new borns. As the above article says "if zoos won't help to save the lives of animals, what are they for?"
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ORIGINAL PETITION TEXT:
At Nuremberg Zoo, mother bears Vera and Wilma gave birth three weeks and five weeks ago respectively. It is thought they have six cubs between them but no-one has seen them to count.
Wilma is displaying all the signs of being a good mother - but Vera looks like she might be starving her young to death.
She frequently strolls out of her cave, where the hungry cries of her babies can be heard from within.
She lazes for hours outside her lair, sparking fears she is neglecting her offspring who badly need nourishment around the clock.
It was just such neglect from his mother that propelled a cute cub called Knut to international stardom in Berlin last year.
Nuremberg Zoo, however, is taking a hard line on Vera's cubs and has decided not to intervene at all.
Nuremburg Zoo is prepared to let these poor polar bear cubs die of starvation.
Polar bears are an endangered species due to global warming so every effort should be made to save these cubs.
If these cubs were human babies then immediate action would be taken to ensure their survival, why should polar bears be any different?
Polar bears are an endangered species and, as a zoo, they were in your protection, it was your duty to care for them and ensure their survival.
If these were human babies then this would not be allowed to happen, why should it be any different for polar bears?
We urge you to never allow something like this to happen again and we would like the zoo to write it's own policy for the protection of all new born animals in your zoo. This policy should include careful monitoring of all baby animals and, when the mother rejects them, they should be hand-reared. As a BBC news article said "if zoos won't help to save the lives of animals, what are they for?"
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