Polar Bear Cubs Disappear At Nuremberg’s Zoo
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Polar bear cubs born at Nuremberg’s zoo have vanished and are presumed dead, possibly of disease, the German press agency DPA reported, citing zoo director Dag Encke.
The missing cubs — probably two of them — may have been eaten by their mother, Vilma, DPA said. A second polar bear at the zoo, Vera, also had cubs recently, and they may still be healthy, the agency said.
To avoid disturbing them, no one has entered the bears’ caves, and it is not known how many baby bears were born, though sounds suggest each mother gave birth to two, DPA said.
Nuremberg’s zoo director had said he didn’t want to follow the example of Berlin’s zoo, which hand-reared the polar-bear cub Knut after his mother rejected him. Mr. Encke told Spiegel magazine’s online service that he was determined to avoid “Knutomania” and was willing to let the cubs die if their mothers abandoned them.
Knut, who was born on December 5, 2006, is a star attraction at the Berlin zoo and his daily public appearances helped draw 2 million visitors to the zoo by the end of October last year. He recently received a Hollywood movie offer from producer Ash Shah, Tagesspiegel am Sonntag reported on December 30, 2007.
[Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting that federal officials said yesterday that they will need a few more weeks to decide whether polar bears need protection under the Endangered Species Act because of global warming.
The deadline was tomorrow, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it now hopes to provide a recommendation to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in time for a decision by him within the next month.
Environmental groups that petitioned to protect polar bears, arguing that warming threatened their habitat, said they would go court to ensure a timely decision. “We certainly hope that the polar bear will be listed within the next month,” Kassie Siegel, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said.
Listing polar bears as “threatened” with extinction could trigger limits on development that adversely affects the animals. That listing is a step below “endangered,” the most severe classification under the Endangered Species Act.]