Germany: Polar Bear Mom May Have Eaten Her Cub

NUREMBERG, Germany — The Nuremberg zoo says one of a pair of twin polar bear cubs has died _ and that it is possible its mother ate it.

The twin bears were born three weeks ago to the mother of the zoo's celebrity polar bear _ Flocke.

Flocke had been rejected by her mother,Vera, and was hand-raised by zookeepers.

Vera did not reject the two new cubs born in late November, but the zoo says that the cub died Monday. The cub had not yet been named.

The bear can no longer be seen on a video monitoring the animals' enclosure. The zoo said Wednesday it is possible Vera ate it.

The zoo says cubs typically have about a 50 percent chance of survival. The other cub remains in good health.

Comments

[Elahrairah]

"appears" eaten?

Is the cub dead or not. Is it missing? Are the cubs bones in the mothers poop? Or are they in a savaged vulture-picked exposed mess on the floor?

How can it 'appear' she ate the cub???

[watchandwait]

She's done this before (around this time last year, actually) and the Nuremberg zoo took away the remaining cub that was about to be killed as well. (The zookeepers said she was acting very "distressed" and was handling the cub rather roughly, which indicated to them that she was about to eat that one, too). That cub was named "Flocke" (German for "snowflake") and she was reared by the zookeepers. She now has her own enclosure and she has a big following. Given the "investment" of time, energy and care they put into her, I can't help but wonder if they'll take the surviving one away from her the way they took Flocke or if they'll "let nature take its course".

[truthynesslover]

awww isnt nature cute?

[OCaptainMercaptan]

Simple test: does the dead cub appear eaten?