Tuesday 11 March 2014

THE CUB: The story behind the picture.


The image that you see is one that I am sure paints a picture of cruelty, anger, inhumanity -- I know this because I felt the same way when I seen it.  A haunting image that even now has imprinted itself inside my head, a hunter posing with a baby cub by the body of the dead mother -- it is truly a scene that disturbs those who are compassionate for animals, but is there more to the story...  

    According to information that we were given, it seems that this man JAMES TAZRUK, who an Inupiaq subsistence hunter, who is generally allowed under federal law to take polar bears was out hunting with a partner back in 2013, when they ran into the bear. 

Not thinking much about it, JAMES, fired his rifle from 100 yards away, taking the life of this living being.  However, it wasn't until he rolled the lifeless being over that he realized that this bear, was a nursing mother - according to TAZRUK he was shocked and saddened, thinking that somewhere there was a baby cub - and so he and his partner followed the animal tracks to a den about 1500 feet away.

That is where they found KALI, a name that the town of POINT LAY called the little cub. According to JAMES he quickly picked up the bear, knowing that the cub would not survive alone, and brought it back to his home town - a long trip but kept the bear close to him.

      The cub was apparently looked after by a veterinarian/ research biologist. The cub was flown to Anchorage later that day - but before any more long trips, the cub will be observed to make sure he has recovered from everything that he has been through --- and to find a suitable, long term zoo that will take the orphaned baby.

Although more of the story has been brought to light - I am still against hunting.  There are still questions inside my head that still linger about this photo and the story behind it,  especially the question....

If he was so concerned about the baby bear, why did he take a photo opportunity with this innocent life by the dead body of the mother? nothing in the research mentioned about this --- well not from what I seen.  I believe this added to more of the trauma on the little life, then being alone in the cave...  I am not saying that this story is a lie or anything -- but as a human, and seeing this photo - it makes a person wonder if indeed there is more to the story then what is said...

What do you think??  

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