The picture shows the zookeeper consoling a female bear in the cage after she got scared and ate her cub.
According to reports on February 1 from Hefei Evening News, on February 1st, a zookeeper at the Tianjing Lake Park Zoo consoled a depressed female bear in its cage. The male bear next to the zookeeper also seemed very sad.
According to the zookeeper, just before the Spring Festival this year, two female Northeast black bears and one male bear at Tianjing Lake Zoo had cubs. Each female bear gave birth to a pair of bear cubs and stayed in their dens without coming out. Whenever they heard the cries of the bear cubs, the zoo staff were delighted. In order not to disturb the mother bear, the zookeepers quietly placed the feed at the entrance of the den every day and then left quietly, worried that the mother bear might get startled.
It was probably because there were too many fireworks on New Year's Eve. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, the cries of the bear cubs were clearly reduced. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, a female bear walked out of the cave with a dazed look. The zookeepers immediately realized something went wrong. Their worst fears came true - the startled mother bear ate her cubs. In general, Northeast black bears are relatively gentle, but when the mother bear who has just given birth gets startled, she often makes the unexpected move of eating her cubs, which has happened in several zoos across the country. Since the Tianjing Lake Zoo does not currently have the conditions for artificial feeding of bear cubs, the other mother bear and her two cubs are still inside the den. If all goes well, the mother bear and her cubs may come out of the den around February 16th, when they will meet the visitors.
The zookeepers appealed to citizens to avoid setting off loud firecrackers, especially in the Tianjing Lake Park and surrounding areas. In addition, visitors should try not to make loud noises while viewing in the zoo to prevent the tragedy of startled mother bears eating their cubs from happening again.
(Guoshining, text/photo)