A comforting thought

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I suppose everybody remembers Knut the cute little polar bear who became the most famous resident of Berlin zoo last year. The poor little tyke was first rejected by its mother at birth and, undirectly caused a media stir when animal rights activists suggested the zoo should let the cuddly little thing die as nature intended. Of course, the zoo did raise the little bear that went and captured the heart of millions across the world. Even a (mostly silly) song was made about our fluffy little hero as it was toddling about in its enclosure, with the moving and touching clumsiness typical of all baby animals and humans. As cute as it was, I had hoped the media attention (not to say hysteria) surrounding it was dead and buried, for Knut wouldn't remain small, cute and cuddly for long. However, my hopes were shattered when I saw they mentioned the bear yet again on TV tonight. Obviously one year later, as anybody would have expected, Knut isn't a cub anymore but a massive, powerful and potentially very dangerous adult polar bear, keen on swallowing whole a three year old child and, only prevented from doing so by the thick glass that separates it from the visitors. It is reassuring and comforting in a way to know that Knut, in spite of being raised, fed and cuddled by human beings, has retained its natural instincts and inclination to maul, kill and eat whatever comes within its reach. Even its former handlers won't approach it anymore. Nature has won :)