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The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan after a nine-year conflict.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