It is illegal to kill bears in Connecticut except in cases of self-defense. A popular local black bear named Bobbi Bear was killed in a Thursday incident near Newtown that involved an off-duty police officer. Authorities would not provide details of the killing. Bobbi was a mother with two cubs. Her cubs are now orphans, but have been allowed to roam freely in their home range. There have been requests to send the cubs to a rehab center, but so far wildlife officials think it is better for them to live naturally with some human monitoring.The black bear had her own Facebook page where locals would post information and photos. Bobbi was photographed in 2020 lounging in a backyard hammock. A town selectman is working with state wildlife officials to obtain a permit for a wildlife specialist to care for the orphans.
In other wildlife news, an Escondido zoo intervened to save the life of a young giraffe resident. Caretakers noticed that a new born giraffe's front legs were hyperextended due to a defect in one of her knee joints which are more like wrist joints in humans. Without a brace of some kind Msituni would not be able to survive in her enclosure with other giraffes. Ordinary medical braces would not do since she weighed about 100 pounds and stood 70" tall. Zoo officials called in a human prosthetics maker who never worked with animals before. A custom, carbon-fibre orthotic was created, decorated with giraffe spots, in eight days. After wearing the custom molded device for only ten days, the joint problem corrected itself. Msituni was in hospital from the day she was born for 39 days. She was slowly reintroduced to her herd, but her mother did not accept her back. Fortunately for Msituni she was adopted by another elder female, and she now runs with the other giraffes at the park. [photo credit: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance via AP]