Moscow zoo Moscow Zoo polar bear shot

Chlidonias · 14 Nov 2010

there are just too many sick idiots in the world
Moscow zoo polar bear shot several times

The Moscow Zoo's most popular polar bear has been the victim of a multiple-gunshot attack, the zoo said on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Wrangle, whom the zoo acquired as a cub off the Arctic Ocean's Wrangle Island in 1991, came under attack from a small-calibre gun at the end of October, the zoo said in a statement.

The father of two cubs, Wrangle usually stays out of sight in an enclosure but can be seen from a high-rise apartment building opposite the zoo, the statement said.

"We are deeply outraged by the behaviour of people who committed this despicable act," the zoo said.

"Perhaps the 'sniper' feels proud about what he did. But where is the heroism in shooting at a defenceless animal from a safe location?"

The bear now faced the threat of infection, the statement added.

The zoo identified Wrangle as "one of the kindest bears at the zoo," which was founded in 1864 and is Russia's oldest.
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Sun Wukong · 14 Nov 2010

How come nobody heard the shot(s)?

Jurek7 · 14 Nov 2010

Mistaken for a member of Russian mafia?

Chlidonias · 15 Nov 2010

and a follow-up story from Moscow News.....
Fears of polar bear shooting unfounded, says Moscow Zoo | LOCAL | The Moscow News

Reports of a shooting incident which injured a polar bear in Moscow Zoo have now been denied by the management.

It had been feared that Vrangel, one of the Kranaya Presnya zoo’s star attractions, had been shot by a pellet gun after vets spotted 11 bloody holes in the animal’s fur.

Several Russian news agencies ran reports of the shooting – claiming Vrangel was dangerously injured – but the zoo’s vets have since found that the sores were most likely not caused by anything sinister.

“He’s not feverish, eats well and there is nothing to be worried about” Elena Mendosa, the zoo’s spokeswoman, told the Moscow News. She said they got slightly too alarmed when staff found 11 strange holes on the animal. “You know, we love these animals, and were very concerned about Vrangel” she said.

It had been suggested the assailants could shoot from a neighbouring building, as the giant Arctic predator lives in a separate open air cage out of visitors’ sight. Although no bullets were found in the cage, this theory seemed reasonable to the administration.

Logical reflection came much later, and the first reaction was emotional. “Our animals take their life in captivity humbly, they don’t have the benefits of freedom and cannot protect themselves. Don’t they have the right to live in peace and respect?” read an official message published on the Zoo’s website.

To check whether Vrangel was indeed shot could be more damaging than the supposed attack.

“In order to find out if there are any bullets stuck in Vrangel’s body we would have to sedate him,” Mendosa says. “And as we don’t know how the 20 year old animal will feel afterwards – even if he survives it – we are not going to do it.”

And there will be no report to the police over the prospect of a would-be bear hunter stalking the popular visitor attraction.

Mendosa said Vrangel is the father of two cubs living in the zoo with their mother. Male bears have to be kept separately due to safety reasons, and Vrangel will come back to his girlfriend when a new home is found for the little ones.
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Steve Robinson · 15 Nov 2010

11 "strange" holes?? How many normal holes does a Polar Bear have?

Curiouser and curiouser.

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