In “kids say the darndest things” news, Angelina Jolie gave an interview to GMTV in which she mentioned that daughter Zahara thinks she’s pregnant… with a pig. I could understand if Zahara thought Angelina was pregnant with a pig… not even piglets, but a full-sized pig. Angie is huge right now. But apparently Zahara likes pretending she’s pregnant too, and has decided she’ll be having a pig. Nothing wrong with that. It’s certainly one of the more useful animals.
Angelina Jolie says her adopted daughter Zahara thinks she’s going to give birth to a pig. The 3-year-old is trying to be like her mum, who is expecting twins with partner Brad Pitt, 45.
“The kids are excited and they are starting to understand about me being pregnant,” Ange explains. “We’ve had it before with Shiloh so they know what’s going on. Zahara pretends she’s pregnant too and says she has an animal in her tummy. She says the piggy is making her eat all the chocolate brownies.”
And 4-year-old Pax also reckons he’s pregnant.
“Pax says he’s got a baby monkey inside him.” Ange tells GMTV. “So it’s really fun in our house at the moment.”
I really like this idea of getting to pick exactly what it is you’re pregnant with. The other day I was watching this special on baby pandas on NPR’s website, and I decided I really wanted one. If only I’d consulted the Jolie-Pitt children first, I would have found out I could birth my own panda. Seriously, I think this is a good idea all around. Though somebody should probably let Zahara know what’s up at some point. Or in about 25 years she’s going to be really disappointed.
Here’s Pax, Angelina, and Zahara in New York in September. Images thanks to WENN.
DMX’s life is really going down the crapper. On Tuesday he was arrested in Arizona for speeding over 100 MPH and driving with a suspended license. In January, a judge ordered him to pay $1.5 million in a defamation suit brought against him by the mother of one of his children. DMX had said in an interview that he didn’t cheat on his wife, because the woman had raped him. He also said he didn’t remember sleeping with the woman, and he’d remember, because she was ugly. So she must have raped him. And last summer, sheriffs took away twelve of the rapper’s pit bulls due to neglect and abuse. So the easy way to sum up DMX’s life right now is that he is physically incapable of doing even one thing right.
But apparently that wasn’t enough for the guy. On Friday, police went to DMX’s home to finally arrest him on animal abuse charges. Did the guy surrender like a normal person? No, he holed up in his room, refusing to come out, and forcing the police to call in the SWAT team.
…the actor-rapper was arrested early Friday at his Phoenix-area home on suspicion of animal abuse and felony drug possession following a search of the house and, before that, a brief standoff with police when he attempted to shut himself up in his bedroom. According to the Maricopa County sheriff’s office, a SWAT team executed a search warrant on DMX’s Cave Creek, Ariz., residence at about 3 a.m. in connection with a seven-month-old investigation into reports that the Cradle 2 the Grave star had a number of malnourished pit bulls on his property.
“A guy like this DMX character with all his money and fame has no excuse for not providing proper care for his animals,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. “He has a long criminal history and obviously has no respect for the law.”
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, tried holing up in his room when the fuzz first arrived, but officers quickly talked him into cooperating, after which they discovered weapons, drugs and five pit bull puppies, which were taken to a nearby prison where female inmates will look after them (the pups, not the guns and drugs).
DMX is due in court on the charges next week. He was also booked on four counts of drug possession. His lawyer gave some poorly worded speech about how the sheriff just had it in for DMX, because he was videotaped speeding and arrested. And apparently the lawyer thinks the sheriff somehow took that as a personal insult. Um… I’m guessing it definitely served to remind the guy to follow up on some legal issues with DMX, but I don’t think it’s exactly a personal affront.
“I think [that] Earl, when he was caught on video just this week speeding at 114 miles per hour, just rubbed it in [the sheriff’s] face, so the sheriff felt he had to do something. From what I hear, I would’ve been glad to bring Earl in if they ever requested it. I called the sheriff on numerous occasions and never, ever received a phone call.”
All right then. Next time, it might be a better idea to advise your client not to keep breaking laws, instead of complaining when he gets arrested on new and old charges. Maybe feed your dogs, take care of them, treat them with dignity… and drive less than 114 mph. All those things are likely to keep a sheriff – even one with a personal vendetta – off your back.
- Geri Halliwell Doesn’t Care If Daughter Becomes “Goth Lesbian.” How very specific. [I’m Not Obsessed]
- Hugh Hefner wants Miley Cyrus for Playboy. Gross. [Dlisted]
- Justin Timberlake has signed with MTV to produce a reality tv show called The Phone, kinda like a Bourne Identity meets the Amazing Race [Lainey Gossip]
- Judge: Jury selection can begin in R. Kelly pornography case [Fafarazzi]
- Check out this sneak peek of Aaliyah gracing the cover of Fader Magazine for the annual icon issue [Bossip]
- Rap kingpin Jay-Z reportedly set up a trust fund for Sean Bell’s children [AOL Black Voices]
- Five Easy Steps to a Financially Successful Romantic Comedy: What Happens in Vegas review [Pajiba]
- ‘W’ Gets Weirder as Lionsgate, Oliver Stone Agree to Outrageous Five-Month Turnaround [Defamer]
- The cast of Scrubs had a lot to celebrate last night after their fairy-tale season finale, but instead of poppin’ champagne, they opted to try their skills at the poker table at the the Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson’s Research Fundraiser [Popsugar]
- Sienna Miller always seems to be getting into fights with the paparazzi. The latest scuffle took place at LAX earlier this week [Celebslam]
- Chanelle Hayes @ Nuts Football Awards [The Bastardly]
- Nicole Richie and Joel Madden take their adorable baby Harlow out for their daily fix of caffeine [Celebrity Baby Scoop]
- Burly porkchop sideburns are the new hot trend in hair in Hollywood. The operative word being “hot”. We’ll see how long they last once summer hits…. [CityRag]
- Tyra Banks Runs a Fetish Show. Thanks for always keeping it classy Tyra (Site NSFW) [Drunken Stepfather]
- Sarah Larson, former “Fear Factor” contestant and famous girlfriend of George Clooney graces next month’s Harper’s Bazaar [Websters is my Bitch]
- The Kardashians posted a mock PSA on Kim’s website regarding the situation in Burma. The whole video is obviously scripted and done in a way to highlight the collective stupidity of the Kardashians while at the same time attempting to teach people about Burma. Sadly, it failed miserably [The Blemish]
- Meet the latest addition to the Beyoncé Knowles House of Deréon clothing line: the “Deréon Girls Collection.” It’s uber creepy… and not surprisingly, uber tacky [Yeeeah!]
- Hollywood heartthrob Patrick Dempsey almost quit acting before he landed his comeback role in hit TV series Grey’s Anatomy - because he was fed up with losing parts as a result of his dyslexia [In Case You Didn’t Know]
- Kim Kardashian is reportedly undergoing specialist cellulite removal treatment [Hollywood Rag]
- A day in the life of Sharon Stone and Melanie Griffith together is as exciting as their movies [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
- John Mayer Continues To Slowly Charm Us With His Douchebag Ways [Agent Bedhead]
- Lauren Hastings is not famous, but if she were, these would be semi-naked pictures of international superstar Lauren Hastings (NSFW) [WWTDD]
- Here are some pictures of Hilary Duff at the same event that Katharine McPhee attended in the photos below… the “Most Alluring Bodies” event from Allure Magazine. [The Skinny]
- Paris Hilton in Russian GQ [Derek Hail]
- LOST RECAP: Fate Is A Fickle Bitch. And Destiny Is a Whore [Best Week Ever]
- La Toya Jackson hung out in Germany yesterday at what we can only hope was an anti-plastic surgery rally. [Mollygood]
- Mary J. Blige: More Comfortable In Her Clothes Than You [Jezebel]
- Tina Turner and Cher do Oprah [Popbytes]
Some days I sit around and think to myself, “That Paris Hilton just doesn’t get enough publicity.” And it really is upsetting, because who is more deserving of love and attention than our dear, demure Paris? That’s right, freaking nobody. Luckily British television station Living TV has decided to take pity on the poor socialite and offer Paris her own show. Because that’s certainly never been done before – and if it had, it certainly wasn’t an incredibly dull half hour of enduring the sound of Paris’ flat affect and wonky eye. This time around, Paris’ costars will be dogs instead of Nicole Richie. Insert your own joke here ___________ ___________ ___ ________.
Paris Hilton is set to host a satellite TV show about pet grooming. The 27-year-old socialite has reportedly signed a deal with Britain’s Living TV television channel to star in ‘Paris’ Pooches’, in which she will manage a beauty parlor for dogs in Bond Street, London. A source told Britain’s Sunday Star newspaper: “The shop is perfect for Paris. It’s a subject she’s passionate about and it’s a way for her to break into UK TV.
“Watching Paris act out her Los Angeles lifestyle, in which tiaras for Chihuahuas are of real importance, should be very entertaining. And she will no doubt be hitting the clubs and parties over here in the same way she does back home.” The hotel heiress — who’s dating Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden — was recently investigated by Los Angeles authorities after claiming to have 17 dogs — 14 more than city bylaws allow. She once claimed to have 600 pets in her various homes including a Rottweiler dog, a bobcat and a Lhasa Aspo.
Giving Paris Hilton the opportunity to be around more animals is like giving a serial killer a knife. Could anything good come of it? No. Will innocent creatures be harmed? Probably. Will Paris Hilton somehow be to blame? Yes, equally in both scenarios. There is actually a website/online petition called Tell Paris No! whose mission is to dissuade the heiress from collecting more animals that she can’t/doesn’t care for. Something tells me they wouldn’t be a big fan of giving her free reign over a bunch of helpless puppies. You just know she’s going to stuff one of them down her shirt and run away.
Header of Paris and her boyfriend Benji Madden on April 16th. According to WENN, they were “leaving Gilgamesh restaurant in Camden having arrived at 11.30pm for a very late dinner!! They then headed to Crystal nightclub, where they spent the rest of the evening partying until 3.30am! Paris is wearing a Lamis Khamis dress, a Chanel bracelet and a white crucifix with her black leather jacket.” Older photo of Paris with what I’m going to say is her kinkajou and a chihuahua. Though I’m not 100% sure which is which. Images thanks to WENN.
Oprah has dedicated today’s show to her beloved cocker spaniel Sophie, who passed away last month at the age of 13. Sophie had been suffering from kidney failure. It’s been an especially hard year for Oprah, pup-wise, as she lost her other dog Gracie in July when she chocked on a plastic ball. Today’s show is on puppy mills, and contributor Lisa Ling presents what’s said to be a great – but hard to watch – documentary on the mills. Oprah’s staff decided to surprise her by opening the show with a tribute to Sophie featuring movies and photos. Unfortunately they didn’t realize just how emotional it would make her, and they had to stop filming after she completely broke down.
E! News has learned the TV titan broke down last week during a taping when producers decided to surprise Oprah with a video tribute to Sophie, her cocker spaniel who recently passed away after a battle with kidney disease.
The special show, which is scheduled to air this Friday, features an investigation into puppy mills. An audience member tells E! News that Winfrey broke down when the tribute began. “She was crying hysterically,” says the source. “She was uncontrollably sobbing. She could barely breathe it got so bad.”
The source says Winfrey’s emotional breakdown became so severe that producers stopped taping. Our source says some Winfrey staffers were regretting the surprise tribute. “They were like, ‘Oh, no, we shouldn’t have done that.’”
That’s so sweet and sad. Clearly Oprah’s staff members were well-intentioned. People love their animals differently, but it’s pretty clear that Oprah’s dogs are her kids. There must be this bittersweet relationship with them, knowing that she’ll likely outlive the animals she loves so deeply. I can’t blame her for breaking down – a month isn’t long in the grieving process.
After watching Lisa Ling’s reports, Oprah said that she would never buy puppies from a breeder again. Though she’s claimed that her dogs weren’t from puppy mills, Winfrey says that from now on she will only adopt from shelters.
Remember Knut, the lovable little polar bear who was almost euthanized because his mom rejected him? Well apparently he’s become a raging little psychopath, just like the rest of us do when our moms reject us. According to one of his handlers, Knut is a major diva, bordering on Diana Ross status. If he’s not worshipped and given copious amounts of adoration, Knut goes ballistic. There’s no word on if he throws fine china and vases or just whimpers and won’t eat his fish.
Knut the polar bear has turned from a cuddly cub into a publicity-addicted psycho, one of his keepers claimed yesterday. Markus Roebke said Berlin Zoo’s celebrity animal was obsessed with the limelight and howled with rage when denied an audience.
“Knut must go and the sooner the better,” he said, insisting that the bear should be sent to an animal park where he received less attention. “He is addicted to the whole show, the human adulation. It is not healthy. He actually cries out or whimpers if he sees that there is not a spectator outside his enclosure ready to ooh and aah at him. When the zoo had to shut because of black ice everywhere he howled until staff members stood before him and calmed him down.”
Mr Roebke is not the only observer to question Knut’s sanity. In January, a prominent animal conservationist branded him “an animal psychopath”.
Knut clearly has some abandonment issues. Join the club. He needs to learn how to deal with his issues by eating too much chocolate and engaging in promiscuous sex like the rest of us. I realize zoo options are limited, but so are plenty of places, and determined people still manage to hook up. I would think a determined bear could manage. I love the idea of a demanding, bitchy bear. I can see him snapping his paws whenever he wants a fish, and demanding people applaud him. Using my advanced training in amateur bear psychology, it sounds to me like Knut’s lonely more than anything. I doubt that he needs PRAISE so much as he needs stimulation and interaction. And I’m pretty darn sure a nice lady bear would fill that void. Just a thought.
Here’s an assortment of Knut photos. Because cute bear pictures are always a good thing.
Anyone who reads Celebitchy with a bit of regularity knows that we’re not exactly the biggest Tom Cruise fans. Though to be fair, it appears that not much of the internet really is anymore. What with the crazy rants and such. But he is known for doing kind things. Star has a story this week about how Tom rescued an injured hawk. I know, makes you imagine him shimmying up an evergreen or something right? Not the most pleasant image. But Tom went about his rescue in good old Hollywood fashion - he sent a jet.
As evidence by his recent Scientology video making the rounds on the Internet, Tom Cruise feels an obligation to help out whenever possible - even if it’s an injured bird. “Tom has a big heart,” said a friend. “Recently, when he was told about an endangered hawk that was struck by a car in Phoenix, he immediately jumped into action and had his private jet pick it up and fly it to a hawk sanctuary in Colorado, where it could get treatment. Thanks to the quick action by Tom, the bird of prey was healed and is going to be released back into the wild.”
[From Star, Feb. 11th 2008, print edition]
So although this story seems ridiculous and over the top, Tom Cruise himself is ridiculous and over the top, so it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. I started writing this article with the intent to reference a few other of Tom’s random good deeds and rescues that I’ve heard about over the years. And when I read them, I started to realize how ridiculous they all are, when looked at in total. And then I found this article from Page Six that questions all of Tom’s wacky heroism. Here’s a few examples:
2003: while filming “The Last Samurai” in New Zealand, Cruise supposedly helped a local family change a flat tire on a country road and assisted a young girl in catching her runaway horse. He also donated $3,800 to a local school that needed a “sun shelter.”
1998: Cruise rushed to the defense of a woman being mugged on a London street and stopped thieves from making off with more than $150,000 in jewelry.
1996: he summoned an ambulance to help an aspiring actress who was the victim of a hit-and-run, then paid her $7,000 emergency room bill. That same year, Cruise was said to have pulled two young boys to safety after they were almost crushed in a mob of out-of-control fans at the London premiere of “Mission: Impossible.”
1993: While he and then-wife Nicole Kidman were vacationing on a 210-foot yacht in Capri in 1993, they were reported to have come to the aid of a family whose yacht had caught on fire. Cruise and Kidman allegedly rescued the family from their life raft and took them aboard their luxury yacht until help arrived.
It does seem a little… unusual… when viewed as a whole. I don’t know, maybe all celebrities fend off criminals and rescue run away horses, and they just keep quiet about it. But when you look at a list of Tom’s do-goodery, it makes you think that something fishy is afoot. While I really do hope he saved a poor hawk by sending his private jet (because I’m sure there’s no more logical way to transport an injured bird than by Tom Cruise’s jet), Tom’s starting to reach urban legend status.
I really don’t think we have enough animal stories here at Celebitchy. And we definitely don’t have enough “when animals attack” type stories. Now to be fair, we’re a celebrity site. And animals don’t attack celebrities nearly as much as they ought to. So it leaves us searching. But once in a while the stars align just right and a monkey grabs an actress’s left boob. Okay by once in a while I mean once ever. But it’s pretty funny nonetheless. It seems that actress Christina Ricci has a longstanding fear of monkeys. Though to be fair, most people are hideously afraid of monkeys. They’re like spiders and snakes. Wait, that’s backwards. Monkeys are freaking adorable. I wouldn’t want one living in my bathroom or anything, but a monkey as a concept is pretty appealing to me. But Christina Ricci and I don’t share this opinion. It’s one of the many things we’re always fighting about. On the first day of filming for her new movie “Penelope,” Christina got attacked by a monkey. A pervert boob-grabbing monkey.
“I’m afraid of monkeys but I had decided not to be afraid of this monkey because no one else is: ‘Everyone else thinks he’s awesome so just be cool.’ It’s the first day of shooting and I have this kitchen scene where I’m sitting down and the monkey is sitting right next to me. Of course it freaks out during the take and grabs my left breast and will not let go, and he’s so strong. I’m thinking, ‘This thing is gonna rip it’s hand away and I will no longer have a boob there!’
“I’m so freaked out and the whole rest of the actors are turned around so no one sees that this has happened to me and I’m like, ‘Help, help’ as quietly and calmly as possible so this thing does not freak out any further.
“Finally they got him off me but my fear is completely validated and I did not go near him for the rest of the shoot… Monkeys are crazy and you never what they’ll grab onto; I don’t like unpredictable animals.”
Something tells me Chim Chim the monkey doesn’t like you much either, or he wouldn’t have been trying to rip your boob off. In the animal kingdom, boob grabbery is considered the greatest of insults. It’s like giving the finger, except it hurts a lot more. Clearly Chim Chim thought Christina’s face was kina odd looking. But being the gentleman that he is, instead of scratching her eyes out he went for the boob. That’s one classy monkey.
Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Christina Ricci at the Palazzo Las Vegas Grand Opening on January 17th. No specific photos were available, but her left boob appears to be in good working order. Images thanks to PR Photos.
The ever-diligent journalists at the UK’s Daily Star are reporting that druggie/rocker/crazy person Pete Doherty is planning on opening up an animal sanctuary… quite possibly in his house. Pete was once famously photographed giving crack to a kitten, so it didn’t exactly seem like he was the biggest animal welfare advocate. But apparently that’s all changed, thanks to the love of a three-legged hedgehog. No I’m not being sarcastic. Pete Doherty really did rescue a three-legged hedgehog that he found in the road. As an aside, I’m pretty sure the fact that hedgehogs run around in the wild is the greatest thing about England. They’re freaking adorable. Anyway, Pete named the little pig Mrs. Tiggg-Winkle, after Beatrix Potter’s famed hedgehog. And apparently his life has been forever changed.
An insider said: “Pete rescued the hedgehog. It had a leg missing and he felt sorry for it.
“He made sure it got the proper help it needed from a vet and set up a special section for it in his garden.
“Pete has a big heart. He also loves rats and is looking after one with no tail.
“He has lots of kittens, too, and hopes that by the end of the year he will be able to open his pet rescue centre at Marlborough to local schools so they can educate children about animals.”
Well this sounds like an all-out fabulous idea. You’ve got a three-legged hedgehog. You’ve got a rat without a tail. You’ve got kittens upon kittens. Really, what more do you need to educate children about animals? This is what I imagine Pete Doherty’s tour will sound like. “Here’s a broken spiny thing. Here’s my crack pipe. Here’s a broken pointy-nosed thing that ought to have a tail. Here’s some cats mating. That makes more cats. Here’s my collection of bongs. Don’t touch the glass one. Here, play with the plastic one.” It’ll be very informative. And what parents in their right mind wouldn’t want to take their kids over to Pete Doherty’s to hang out with some animals and acid? That’s right, boring ones. Pete Doherty’s had a lot of bad ideas. Throwing a vial of his own blood on a camera. Dating Kate Moss. But an animal sanctuary has got to be the absolute worst.
Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Pete performing with Babyshambles in Concert at Olympia Hall in Paris - January 14, 2008. Images thanks to PR Photos.
Update: Video:
Here’s part of the video that I mentioned below of the polar bear Vera who didn’t kill her cubs. This cub was eventually taken away from her after another polar bear mother in the same zoo is presumed to have eaten her young, as described below. The video that I saw on the news showed the bear being dropped repeatedly and it looked more deliberate than in this footage.
This is huge news in Germany today where I live. Two five week-old polar bear cubs have died after their mother presumably ate her babies. Two polar bears at the Nuremberg zoo, Vera and Wilma, gave birth to an unknown number of cubs just two weeks apart. Wilma had her two cubs three weeks ago and Vera had her cub five weeks ago. Vera’s cub was often heard crying pitifully by zoo visitors but was ignored by the zoo staff, who stubbornly insisted to let nature take its course. The keepers decided to let the newborn bear starve and hope that the mother would eventually care for him instead of hand feeding him like Knut, who became an international sensation at the Berlin zoo after his mother rejected him. Zoo officials specifically cited the Knut case as a reason not to rescue the cubs from either mother.
Vera was seen throwing her cub in a video that’s being shown repeatedly on the news. Now the two three week-old cubs from the other mother Wilma are missing and presumed eaten, as mother polar bears do in the wild when their young are ill. Zookeepers have finally pledged to hand raise Vera’s cub after saying they would wait and see what happened to avoid another Knut situation.
There is a lot of confusion over how many cubs were born, and in a Reuters news report they say that they can’t be sure how many cubs there were. An article in The Guardian reports that six cubs were born. Another Reuters story claims that each polar bear mother gave birth to just one cub, and German source Spiegel says that three cubs were born, two of which are missing and one of which has been removed from the other mother for safety after it was being seeing tossed around. It’s hard to tell what happened exactly, but it sounds like two three-week-old polar bear cubs were killed by their mother, Wilma, and that one remains from the other mother.
A zoo in southern Germany today came under fire for refusing to save the lives of two polar bear cubs who were apparently eaten by their mother, in order to avoid a sequel of “Knut mania”.
Nuremberg zoo, in Bavaria, southern Germany, refused demands to rear the vulnerable cubs by hand as Berlin zoo famously did a year ago.
Knut, Berlin’s polar bear cub, was whisked to safety from its mother’s enclosure in a fishing net in December 2006, subsequently becoming internationally famous.
However, Nuremberg zoo chiefs said nature should take its course in the case of the cubs that polar bear Vilma gave birth to five weeks ago.
“We wanted to avoid a repeat of the stupid Knut mania and not rear the animal by hand,” Helmut Mägdefrau, the deputy director of the zoo, said.
Despite evidence that Vilma was failing to feed her young, keepers decided to leave them to their own devices. On Monday, they approached the polar bear enclosure after being alerted by the disturbed behaviour of another bear, Vera. They discovered that the cubs could not be found.
“We could not find the remains of the little ones, so we cannot determine the cause of death,” Mr Mägdefrau said, adding: “We’re very sad”.
Despite his assurance that they had died, keepers had been unable to enter Vilma’s cave by yesterday evening to see for themselves.
Mr Mägdefrau said it was not clear whether Vilma had killed her young because they were sick - a not untypical reaction of polar bears in the wild - or had let them die for the same reason and then consumed them.
However, politicians and animal rights activists were quick to condemn the zoo, accusing it of neglect.
“You cannot just dump them in an artificial environment and then treat them as if they’re living in the wild,” Berthold Merkel, the president of Bavaria’s Animal Protection Association, said.
The affair reignited the row of a year ago, when an animal rights activist provoked an international outcry by arguing that Knut should have been allowed to die after being rejected by his mother rather than being unnaturally reared by humans.
However, supporters of the efforts to save Knut said it was a zoo’s duty to conserve animals, and that it was nonsense to treat them as if they were in the wild.
Attention is now focused on polar bear Vera, who also recently gave birth. Reacting to the public outcry, the zoo yesterday announced it would be rearing her [one remaining] cub by hand.
There is footage of Vera looking like she’s tossing her cub in a deliberate effort to kill it. It’s been all over the news today and I haven’t been able to find it yet online. I first saw it while out having lunch and other people at the restaurant were exclaiming loudly how awful it was.
The Berlin Zoo director has openly disagreed with the way that the Nuremberg zoo officials handled the case of the cubs. He said “This is not some new fad. We hand-reared a bear in 1986 that now lives in Serbia. That is responsible breeding and care. We have no concerns for the welfare of Knut.”
It looks like the Nuremberg zoo will have another little Knut after all, and a lot of well-deserved negative publicity for not looking after the other cubs before they met untimely ends. They did mean well in that they hoped the mothers would care for their cubs, but it seems they waited too long.
I’m not able to read German well, but my husband told me that the Bild article says that officials at the Nuremberg zoo wanted to install cameras to monitor the state of however many cubs there were from the two mothers, but that the cameras did not arrive before the births and they didn’t want to disturb the cubs or their mothers at this crucial time. If animals raised in captivity have a tendency to kill their young because they feel that their young are not safe, shouldn’t their young be saved from the mothers before it’s too late?
