For some reason I have taken a great interest in a polar bear named Vera and her cub, who has been named Flocke by a zoo in Germany. To give a little background, Vera had her cub 4 months ago and heres a bit of info that was published about the event, this is the start of my outrage at this story

Polar bear ’Vera’ has her cub between the legs (I have the picture posted in my pics section) as it leaves its cave in the ’Tiergarten Nuernberg’ zoo in Nuremberg, Germany, on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. The Nuremberg zoo announced Tuesday that it would also begin bottle-feeding a newborn polar bear cub that was taken away from its mother over fears she might harm it. ’The safety of the young animal is the first priority,’ said deputy zoo director Helmut Maegdefrau. The zoo made the decision to remove the cub from its mother, Vera, after another polar bear at the zoo apparently ate her two newborn cubs.Though Vera has not tried to harm her own cub so far, it was taken away from her Tuesday afternoon when she carried it out of her cave and appeared to try and hide it elsewhere in the polar bear compound, Maegdefrau said.

Okay, so today I start to read the stories on the internet and top story is about this cute little polar bear cub named Flocke, turns out to be Vera’s little one and she (Flocke) is making her debut for a bunch of photographers and then theres a story about how the zoo had to take her from her mother, here’s what their writing about Vera now.

Flocke, born Dec. 11 and then rejected by her mother, made her public debut at the Nuremberg zoo just as interest in the Berlin zoo’s now fully grown polar bear sensation, Knut, seems to be waning. Knut was abandoned by his own mother in 2006 and was raised by zookeepers. He became something of a Berlin zoo franchise, attracting more than a million visitors and inspiring a stuffed-animal, a Vanity Fair cover with Leonardo DiCaprio, a children’s book and even a feature film.

Flocke — German for “Flake,” as in snowflake — was taken from her mother, Vera, Jan. 8 for hand-rearing after Vera was seen tossing the cub around her enclosure.

Isn’t it interesting that “now” Vera was tossing her cub around and that she rejected her. This story get to me on so many levels. I also realize there a bigger things to be outraged about and believe me I am but this is such a blantant lie. What right do we have over animals to take away there cubs like that and then justify by a lie. Vera can’t speak for herself and she’s at the mercy of the “zookeepers”. This is also just another example of mankinds relationship with wildlife and not only that, but how we are to one another.

I think about Vera and what that must have been like for her when they took her cub away. I know this goes on all the time in the world. I’m not naive to think this is the first time and it won’t be the last but what the hell is wrong with us. “If” the zoo had done it for the protection of the cub that would be one thing, but it wasn’t. Now they have something to exploit and make a fortune from and that an outrage not to mention they are lying to justify what they have done, because as we all know Vera is “just a wild animal”.