Knut Flap

Click the title for the yahoo story I'm referencing.

The short story is that a captive polar bear was bred and gave birth to two cubs. She rejected her motherly duties, and one of the cubs died. The zoo keepers decided to intervene and remove the surviving cub from the mother and hand raise it. The bear cub has become a point of interest for cuteness lovers, animal lovers, zoo fans, and animal activists alike.

The zoo has been able to use this cub as a mascot which has brought in revenues which help support this particular bear as well as other animals in the zoo. And, truth be told, pretty much all small, furry things are cute and stir something in the hearts of humans and critters alike.

But what has me baffled is that animal activists are crying foul. Activists say that the zoo went too far by rescuing this cub, and that it would have been better if the cub were allowed to die. They reason that if the mother were not in a zoo, both cubs would have likely died, and that is the way of nature. The whole non-sense about survival of the fittest, blah blah blah.

The part that baffles me is that THE BEAR ISN'T IN NATURE. It is, in fact, in a zoo. Which means that the bear isn't forced to forage for it's meals daily. It doesn't have any poachers aiming at it with high powered rifles. And, if it gets sick, vets will treat it. When humans take animals out of their environments, they have a life long responsibility for that animal. And, when they force that animal to breed, they have a natural covenant to care for the offspring to the best of their abilities as well.

And, the little guy is cute. Cute pretty much usually wins any contest where humans are the judges.