Flocke is a polar bear cub who was born in captivity at the Nuremberg
Zoo in 2007. A few weeks after her birth, she was removed from her
mother's care after concerns were raised for her safety. Although the
zoo had established a strict non-interference policy with its animals,
officials chose to raise the cub by hand. This decision came at a time
when the zoo was receiving negative attention from the media after
another female polar bear reportedly ate her newly born cubs. Similar
to the excitement around Knut, a captive-born and handraised polar bear
at the Berlin Zoo, Flocke ("flake" in German) quickly became a media
sensation. After she debuted to the public on 8 April 2008, her name
was trademarked by the zoo and her image appeared on toys and in
advertisements throughout the city. The zoo announced in May 2008 that
United Nations Environment Program chief Achim Steiner would be
Flocke's official patron with the hope of using the bear as an
ambassador to encourage awareness of climate change. In late 2008, a
Russian-born male polar bear named Rasputin was introduced to Flocke's
enclosure in the hopes that she would gain valuable socializing skills
with a member of her own species. A year later, it was announced that
both bears would relocate to Marineland in southern France sometime in
late-February 2010.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flocke>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1898:
The United States Navy battleship USS Maine exploded and sank in
Havana, Cuba , killing more than 260 people and precipitating the
Spanish-American War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_%28ACR-1%29>
1900:
Second Boer War: British cavalry under Major-General John French
defeated Boer forces to end a 124-day siege of Kimberley, present-day
South Africa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kimberley>
1942:
World War II: Japanese forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita
captured Singapore, the largest surrender of British-led military
personnel in British history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore>
1989:
The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had
withdrawn from Afghanistan after a nine-year conflict.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan>
2003:
In one of the largest anti-war rallies in history, millions around the
world in approximately 800 cities took part in protests against the
impending invasion of Iraq.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15%2C_2003_anti-war_protest>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
repercussion (n):
A consequence or ensuing result of some action
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/repercussion>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their
reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those
who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in
the world's estimation.
--Susan B. Anthony
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony>
_______________________________________________
Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list.
To unsubscribe, visit:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l
Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
