A Swiss zoo which caused a public outcry by euthanising a healthy baby brown bear because it was being bullied by its father has said the cub will now be preserved and displayed to educate schoolchildren.
The bear, known only as "Cub Four", was put down after 360kg male bear Misha killed its sibling because he was jealous of the attention they were receiving from mother Masha, zoo staff said at the time.
In the wild, female bears normally protect their young by driving away the father after giving birth, and Swiss animal protection groups slammed the zoo for keeping them in the same enclosure.
But now staff at the Dählhölzli Zoo in Bern say the stuffed corpse of Cub Four will be used to teach visitors that "nature can be very cruel", The Local reported.
Yesterday a taxidermist began preserving the cub's fur, which will then be glued onto an artificial model the shape of its body. The whole process will be completed by the beginning of autumn, and is being overseen by Bern's Natural History Museum.
