Jaunted

Knut

Penguin and Polar Bear Problems

March 3, 2008 at 9:10 AM | 0 Comments

If you're a cute, black-and-white animal living in Stuttgart's beautiful Wilhelma Zoo, you've been in the headlines recently. That's the conclusion we've drawn from the series of stories emerging from southern Germany, with the most disturbing news being the abduction of Babe.

Babe, in this case, was not a pig, but a penguin. Poor Babe was bird-napped from her enclosure in broad daylight last Tuesday and hasn't been seen since. As the police astutely pointed out, "There is no black market for penguins in Germany," so everyone's stumped by the penguin theft.

But the zoo is trying to turn its image positive again, finally announcing that a baby polar bear was born there in December. They kept it a secret--trying to avoid a repeat of the Knut drama in the Berlin Zoo--but have now announced that baby Wilbär is happy, healthy and hasn't been abandoned by his mother, although he'll be staying out of the public eye until April. By which time, we hope, poor Babe the penguin has also returned.

We recommend postponing trips to Stuttgart until all the black-and-white cuties are on show again.

Related Stories:
· Stuttgart Zoo Loses a Bird, Gains a Polar Bear [Spiegel]
· Knut the Polar Bear Coverage [Jaunted]
· Crocs Out to Get You in Stuttgart [Jaunted]

[Photo: juliebee]