Mother polar bear turns on newborn cubs

[Kris G.]

The surprise birth of three polar bear cubs at the Toronto Zoo Tuesday night turned ugly when the mother lashed out, leaving one cub dead and two clinging to life.

Aurora, one of the zoo's two 10-year-old female polar bears, gave birth more than a month early to two male cubs and one female cub. It's one of the earliest recorded births of polar bears in captivity, zoo staff said.

But the bear attacked her cubs shortly after the birth. Zoo staff intervened and managed to save two of them.

According to a Toronto Zoo press release, the two surviving cubs are recovering in intensive care, receiving “round the clock care� by zoo veterinarians and wildlife care staff.
 
“We are hopeful that they will both get stronger but they are far from being out of the woods at this time,� the release said, adding that both cubs will be “hand-raised.�
 
Mother bear Aurora, a main attraction at the zoo, first appeared in Toronto in 2001 after she and sister Nikita, both baby cubs at the time, were found wandering the wilderness alone.
 
According to earlier reports, the cubs' mother was killed by a hunter in a provincial park near Hudson Bay. The Ministry of Natural Resources contacted the Toronto Zoo and the orphaned cubs were taken to the city.

The sister cubs were loaned out to polar bear habitat in northern Ontario in 2002 because the Toronto Zoo didn't have enough space to keep them but, in 2009, the bears returned to the zoo.

Little is known about what prompted Aurora to turn on her newborn cubs Tuesday night. One source told the Star that she ate one cub and skinned another.
 
According to University of British Columbia zoologist Wayne Goodey, stress in captivity could be a factor in the attack.
 
“It's not uncommon in captive, stressful situations,� he said, pointing to experiments where lab rats and mice ate their young when placed in stressful situations.

Goodey also said he had never heard of a mother polar bear eating her cubs, with most situations involving male bears eating cubs as a source of food in the wilderness.

                     

[Donna]

OMG!!! I just don't know what to say!

[carly]

A second cub has now died they're reporting.  They're getting alot of criticism up here for breeding the polar bears.  A WWF rep on the news tonight said they're not endangered yet so there is no real reason to breed them in zoos - save for profit as cubs draw crowds.  But as there is no release plan in place, they feel it's cruel to breed them in the zoos as they required alot of space compared to say a panda bear.  They mentioned that the mother here doesn't have a large enough enclosure and that might have contributed to her reaction to her cubs...

[Kris G.]

A second cub has now died they're reporting.  They're getting alot of criticism up here for breeding the polar bears.  A WWF rep on the news tonight said they're not endangered yet so there is no real reason to breed them in zoos - save for profit as cubs draw crowds.  But as there is no release plan in place, they feel it's cruel to breed them in the zoos as they required alot of space compared to say a panda bear.  They mentioned that the mother here doesn't have a large enough enclosure and that might have contributed to her reaction to her cubs...

The whole situation is so sad-sounds like the mother was probably stressed to do such a horrific act. Thanks for the update and info, Carly.

[carly]

I have read that sometimes animals will kill their offspring when they feel threatened by predators, to keep the predators from getting them.  I know of one specific situation where an animal did it because she felt threatened by a perceived threat of humans in the area.  You can't help but speculate, since she was born in the wild and her own mother was killed by a hunter..likely in front of her - if somehow they dont' have that memory and that has had an affect on her behaviour.  I know they aren't human, but I somehow am hesitant to believe that 'all animals', regardless of how good humans intentions may be in a specific situation, are happy and thankful to be in captivity.  

The other scenario is perhaps she sensed they weren't healthy, I know animals will kill an offspring if it's weak and unable to survive.  I sure hope they don't attempt to breed her again either way.

[MAK]