A row has broken out at a German zoo after keepers took over bringing up a polar bear cub when its mother rejected it. Some people who support animal rights say that is wrong because the bear would not survive in the wild. But others think that the zoo keepers should have just let nature take its course.

 But does everyone think that is the right thing to do?

Our school (Foyle and Londonderry College) has decided to interview people from yr10 to see if they think it is the right thing to do. We interviewed a class of 18 pupils and the results are as follows:

YES: 11 PUPILS

NO: 7 PUPILS

At another zoo a cub was left to fend for itself as the mother rejected it. It is expected that one of the cubs has been eaten by its mother. Loads of people contacted the zoo asking them to help the cubs, but deputy director Helmut Maegdefrau said they were still hoping the mothers would bond with them.

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear native to the Arctic. Polar bears and Kodiak bears are the world's largest land carnivores. The polar bear is a vulnerable species at high risk of extinction. Polar bears are enormous, aggressive, curious, and potentially dangerous to humans. Wild polar bears, unlike most other bears, are barely habituated to people and will quickly size up any animal they encounter as potential prey. The polar bear is the most carnivorous member of the bear family. It feeds mainly on seals, especially ringed seals that poke holes in the ice to breathe, but will eat anything it can kill: birds, eggs, rodents, shellfish, crabs, beluga whales, walrus calves, muskox, reindeer, and other polar bears.

Our conclusion to this story is that because polar bears are endangered all over the world the zoo keepers should have the right to remove the cubs from their mothers if they think the cubs are threatened. One thing is for certain Knut is the most famous polar bear in the world.

By Alisha McCandless & Ruth Babington   10C