ShreyaOne thing that Leonardo de Caprio’s movie The Revenant, that by the way got him that long overdue Oscar, taught us about bears is that even if they are not messed with, can tear you from limb to limb. It reinstates the bestial nature of the bears and even though most people know that brown grizzlies like feeding on fruits and berries, it is also a commonly known fact that when they are extremely hungry the males can also eat their young ones.
But these aggressive tendencies are shown by the bears in the wild. What about bears who are forced into confinement? People expect them to be more aggressive and sometimes they prove people right.
Not Meant To Be Confined
Brown bears, also called grizzlies, found in most of Europe, US and Canada are considered one of the most dangerous animals on earth. Not only is their size dominating, they are literally capable of causing the death of any being using their paws. These large bears can hardly find enough wild space in nature anymore, thanks to the exponential way in which deforestation is taking place, on top of that they are being confined in spaces like zoos. Animals kept in captivity tend to be more aggressive at times.
Bears In Zoos
Here are some less known bear facts. Bears, even though among the fierce forces of nature are also known to have a kinder side to their nature. They can be really goofy and are certainly cuddly, that is why they are called grizzlies. A lot of zoos have bears and they really entertain people with their quirks but confinement can make some bears irritable and attacks on humans by bears are not unheard of but that is true for all zoo animals. Therefore, extra care is taken as far as securing grizzlies is concerned.
Their Conditions
There are a lot of zoos who starve wild animals like bears, lions, and tigers so that they do not have a lot of energy to act on their wild impulses and so that they can be easily tamed. This treatment is nothing short of barbaric. But there are other zoos which keep the wild animals well fed and try to provide them space, as close an imitation of nature as possible. One such zoo is Budapest Zoo in Hungary.
Budapest Zoo
The official name of the place is Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden and it does not just keep animals on display. It is a professional conservation workhouse and place that safeguards endangered creatures. It has various conservation programs and is collaborated with organizations such as WWF. It can be safely assumed that the animals here receive the best care and are mostly kind to each other but one incident made everyone doubt that.
The Cacophonous Crows
For some time now hooded black crows had been troubling the residents of the Budapest zoo. Stealing meat from tigers, lions and even bears and the zoo authorities had to make sure to protect small animals like the guinea pigs because crows are vicious and can prey on them. Just when one of these crows was on a stealing expedition, it was unlucky to fall into a pool and since crows can’t swim, it started drowning.
The Tenant
Unfortunately for the crow, the pool that it fell in belonged to the area where a bear resided. The entire incident was recorded by a visitor on video. The female bear in the picture is Vali. She was just lurking around the pond when she noticed a disturbance in the waters. It piqued her curiosity and she went closer to look what the hubbub in her usually quiet pond was about. The video camera knew it before she did.