Life or Death

Meet Knut, a polar bear cub born in December in the Berlin Zoo. When he was born, his mother wanted nothing to do with him or his brother who later died. She abandoned them. The zoo took over the care of the surviving cub, bottle feeding him every 4 hours. Knut is now 3 months old and weighs 19 lbs. I'm a sucker for cute, little cuddly things. I prefer my men cuddly rather than hard-bodied. It's hard to believe that some animal activists are calling for his death.

Yes, you read that right. Animal activist, Frank Albrecht has lobbied for the killing citing that "he will grow up with a behavioral disorder for the rest of his life." Another activist, Wolfram Graf-Rudolf is quoted, "I don't consider it appropriate for the species that the little polar bear is being raised on a bottle. The animal will be fixated on his keeper and not be a "real" polar bear." I will give this guy credit, he does say that it's too late to kill him now.

Of course, I'm not an animal expert by any stretch of the imagination but I say give this poor bear a chance. I really don't think he will have any emotional or behavioral issues. He won't become domesticated. I just hope that in the end he won't harm his handler. He will grow into a dangerous predator and will have polar bear behavior. Knut should be treated as such. I'm sure the zoo will not turn him into a "pet" and respect Knut for what he is, a man eater if given the chance. Knut will live to see another day as the zoo has decided his life will be spared.

The way things are in the world with Iraq and all the other hot spots, this whole polar bear thing is small potatoes but people are upset about it. I agree that it just seems heartless and cruel for these animal lovers and activists to call for Knut's death.