Look into those adorable eyes of
Knut, the baby polar bear currently residing at the Berlin Zoo. Knut was born on December 5, 2006, and was rejected by his mother,
Tosca. Since then, zookeepers have hand-raised Knut, providing him with round-the-clock care and attention.
During recent months, Knut has become an icon for the city of Berlin; Berliners and people across the globe have fallen in love with Knut and anxiously await his public debut.
"Since his birth, Knut has become a superstar in his native city. He's been featured in the newspapers- Berlin daily
Der Tagesspiegel has a regular column and website devoted to him- the city's ice hockey team, the Eisbären (Polar Bears), wants to adopt him as a mascot, and even Berlin's popular mayor,
Klaus Wowereit, is reported to be a fan," according to the Spiegel Online news site.
However, one obviously egocentric person has an entirely different view.
"The zoo must kill the bear," says a man by the name
of Frank Albrecht, who claims to be an animal activist.
Some animal activist, I say. I know better than anyone what it means to be an animal activist, because I actually am one. I have two dogs that I love dearly and I volunteer at a no-kill animal shelter and the Denver Zoo regularly. Everyone knows me as the biggest animal lover on the planet.
Despite his wishy-washy claims, Mr. Albrecht never has been and never will be an animal activist. People like Albrecht are animal haters who make me explode with anger.
Albrecht said, "Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross-violation of animal protection laws," which, if you ask me, is absolute nonsense. Sure, in a perfect world, Knut's mother would raise him exclusively. Unfortunately, though, this is not an option.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and the zookeepers at the Berlin Zoo were right to intervene. Contrary to the words of Albrecht, zookeepers should not have simply allowed nature to take its course.
That would have been animal cruelty.
Knut was born in captivity, for crying out loud. Because of this, he will never be capable of living on his own in the wild. Therefore, it is the job of the zookeepers to do all that they are able to sustain Knut's life.
Knut's story greatly parallels that of
Klondike and
Snow, the twin polar bear cubs born here in Colorado, at the Denver Zoo, 12-and-a-half years ago. Keepers at the Zoo discovered the polar bears alone and believed that their mother,
Ulu, had abandoned them.
Led by Dr.
David Kenny, zookeepers and veterinarians alike worked long hours and devoted themselves to rearing the polar bear cubs by hand.
Needless to say, their hard work paid off. Although Klondike and Snow's life got off to a rough and tedious start, they are now thriving at Sea World Orlando's Wild Arctic exhibit.
Having had the opportunity to work alongside keepers at the Denver Zoo, I know in my heart of hearts that each and every one of them would do everything in his or her power to save an animal in need. This is precisely the reason that Klondike and Snow's story was one of success.
They were the first polar bear cubs to ever be hand-raised by zookeepers and live through the experience. Klondike and Snow should serve as inspiration to the zookeepers raising Knut and to Mr. Albrecht, who has obviously never heard their heartwarming tale.
I just wish that Albrecht could get off his high horse and stop being a hypocrite. Real animal activists work to save animals; they don't go around pleading for helpless and innocent animals to be killed.
Animals are people too and I seriously doubt that Albrecht would have wished to be left to die had his parents abandoned him at birth. Therefore, he shouldn't go around acting like he has the right to tell the Berlin Zoo how to care for its animals.
Hannah Smith is a freshman at Bear Creek High School and enjoys spending time with animals, volunteering and playing the violin.