Remembering Knut

Berlin's beloved polar bear Knut, who rose to stardom when he was hand-raised by zoo keepers after being rejected by his mother rejected at birth, died on Saturday, a zoo official said. 

 

This is sad news. Not just because i have been along time fan of Knut but also for it again highlighting the challenge of zoos.

I am a zoo advocate.

 

I don 't like the fact we have to have Zoos but I do like a well planned Zoo. A Zoo which is contributing to sustaining animal species and educating. It's just a fucker that we have to be sustaining animals due to all of our greed and selfishness.On every trip to any zoo the sadness of our collective greed always hits me.

I like Zoos which have a clear role in conservation. Zoos that educate and zoos which you can walk around and not see any animals because the big, and well planned, enclosures allow all of their animals a place to be alone and to simulate their wild existence. I don't like Zoos where people bang on the glass or get annoyed cause the monkeys are asleep. But that's more about the people than the Zoos. I hate, to the point of loathing, people who use animals purely as attractions and novelties

 

Knuts death has again shown there are animals that shouldn't be in zoos and polar bears pretty much top that list with their needs for a range to wander and desire for isolation.

Something about the fact that Knut was a cute commodity then a forgotten depressed adult also really hits me.

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/19/6302323-knut-the-polar-bear-dies-at-berlin-zoo