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.
