Anastasia,
Just before Christmas, a video was posted on YouTube showing a mother polar bear on the ground writhing in pain with blood gushing from her mouth.
The mother polar bear and her cub were regulars at a construction site on Russia's Wrangel Island where the workers often fed them. One day in November, a worker either threw a firecracker at the mother polar bear or fed it to her disguised in food. Although it may be unclear how it happened, the result is horrifically clear: the firecracker went off in the mother polar bear's mouth.
When Ivan saw the video of her suffering, he started a Care2 petition demanding that the Prosecutor General of Russia investigate and bring charges against those responsible for torturing the mother polar bear. Will you sign it?
The cruelty shown in the disturbing video has sparked worldwide outrage. PETA, Greenpeace Russia, and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have all called for an official investigation.Since polar bears are a threatened species in Russia, prosecutors could request a seven-year prison sentence for the person who hurt the mother polar bear.
Officials from the construction company are already trying to shift blame by claiming the polar bear ate a flare on her own. Russian Natural Resource Minister Sergey Donskoy has stated, however, that polar bears are too smart to do something like that. He maintains that "it was a deliberate act."
No one knows what happened to the mother bear or her cub after she was so brutally attacked. She ran off and her body was never recovered. There is some hope that she is still alive, but Donskoy believes that the firecracker caused damage to her central nervous system. He doesn't think she would be able to survive.
Please add your name to Ivan's petition demanding justice for the mother polar bear who was tortured, maimed, and probably killed by a cruel and thoughtless person. If we attract enough global attention to this heartbreaking incident, it may be enough to pressure Russia's Prosector General into bringing charges against those responsible.
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