Nuremberg, Germany - A German zoo under fire for allowing
two polar bear cubs to die acted to save a third cub on Tuesday by
deciding to raise it by bottle.
Keepers at Nuremberg zoo in southern Germany separated the three-
week-old cub from its mother, Vera, after she became increasingly
nervous about looking after her offspring.
'The cub is in good health and has been well-fed,' zoo director
Dag Encke said after veterinarians examined the baby.
The move came a day after two cubs born to another polar bear
died. The zoo had warned in advance that it would not 'rescue' them
after their mother Vilma began behaving 'strangely' amid indications
the cubs were sick.
The deaths came a year after Berlin Zoo scored a publicity coup by
saving the life of Knut, a polar bear cub that was raised by bottle
after being abandoned by its mother at birth.
Knut generated huge international interest and massive revenues
for the zoo, which saw attendances soar to a record 3.1 million in
2007 as visitors sought a glimpse of the cuddly animal cavorting with
its keeper.
Vera, who gave birth to her cub around the same time as Vilma, was
spotted Tuesday strolling across her enclosure, carrying her cub in
her mouth.
Encke said the decision to remove the cub from its mother was
taken after she displayed signs of anxiety at not finding a safe
place for the cub in the polar bear enclosure.
'I don't know if we can bear to allow the little polar bear to
starve to death if his mother Vera abandons him,' Nuremberg Deputy
Mayor Horst Foerther said earlier in the day.
The zoo had earlier defended its action to let the other cubs die,
with a spokesman saying it had 'acted absolutely correctly' under
guidelines laid down by the European Animal Conservation and Breeding
Programme.
The Bavarian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on
Monday attacked the zoo, saying it had breached its duty of care to
the cubs.
'You can't move polar bears into artificial surroundings and then
act as if they are still living wild,' said the society president,
Berthold Merkel.
The 'rescue' of Knut in December 2006 triggered fierce debate
among animal experts, some of whom said he should have been allowed
to die rather than be raised by humans.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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