Posted on 04/13/2009 1:48:12 PM PDT by JoeProBono
"Zoo keepers who saved the life of a woman who jumped into a polar bear enclosure at Berlin Zoo revealed on Monday that they were moments away from shooting the animals.
Rifles had already been issued to marksmen and Heiner Kloes, a zoo spokesman, said: This woman's behaviour not only put her life in danger but also that of the staff who had to rescue her.
However, we do have guns and we would have been prepared to use them without hesitation if it was felt it was the only way to save the woman.
The woman known only as "Mandy K" not only endangered her own life, but those of the brave zoo keepers who rescued her. Mandy was severely depressed because she was recently laid of from her teaching job, but there are better ways of dealing with depression. Mandy is still in intensive care, she has paid dearly for her foolish action and we shouldn't pile on her.
If the zoo keepers had killed the polar bears who were only defending their turf from a trespasser there would have been a worldwide outrage from animal lovers. The bears are captured and imprisoned in a cage, to shoot them because an idiot jumps into their enclosure would be nothing short of murder.
If a similar incident happens in the United States and the zoo administrators decide to shoot a zoo animal, I guarantee that the zoo officials would not enjoy a day of peace for the rest of their lives.
The Prospect Park Zoo used to be a real zoo. It was "state of the art" when it opened in the early part of the 20th century, but was considered antiquated when they closed it down and shipped the animals elsewhere so that they could make a big children's zoo.
The incident that brought this on was when a kid climbed into the polar bear cage and actually taunted one of the bears. The kid was killed. The other bear headed back into the "cave" in the pen. Someone thought that there was another kid hiding in there and told zoo officials and cops on the scene. Well, even if they had a tranq gun handy, it takes 30-45 minutes to tranq a bear. Cops shot the bears and went looking for the other kid. (there wasn't any.)
Sad thing is that I was at that zoo a couple days earlier. I even took a picture of the two bears that had been living there since before I was born.
Here in Toronto, when a new polar bear cub is born they typically have a naming contest. The prize is a chance to go to the zoo and play with the cub. The only stipulation is it must be done before the bear is 6 months old because it’s at that point that they begin to see humans as a food items.
Surely that should have been the other way around, shouldn’t it?
Sometimes the bear eats you
How can anyone argue with such impeccable logic?
Obviously, they should have planned to shoot and kill the human.
Less fallout that way.
I knew that.
That is not true.
I worked for SeaWorld for over 20 years. We always laughed at them!!
There was a Pleistocene-era bear named the "dog-bear".
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