Binky (polar bear)

Binky (1974–1995) was a polar bear who lived at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska, and was famous for mauling zoo visitors.

He was found orphaned on the coast of the Beaufort Sea in 1974 and was taken to the Alaska Zoo the next year. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060927210410/http://www.alaskazoo.org/willowcrest/binky.htm "Binky and Nuka Memorial."] Alaskazoo.org (retrieved Apr. 3, 2007).]

In July 1994, an Australian tourist named Kathryn Warburton climbed over the second of two safety rails to get a close-up photograph and was bitten as the bear stuck his head through the bars and grabbed her;Komarnitsky, S.J. "Zoo's Polar Bear Mauls Tourist Who Climbed Over Two Fences." "Anchorage Daily News" (July 30, 1994).] she received a broken leg and bite wounds. Another tourist caught the event on tape. Binky kept the woman's shoe for three days before it could be retrieved by zoo officials, and the day after the attack a news photographer took the iconic image of Binky with a shoe in his mouth that was printed in almost every press account of the incident.Partnow, Patricia H. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3732/is_199901/ai_n8835162/pg_1 "Ursine urges and urban ungulates: Anchorage asserts its Alaskanness."] "Western Folklore" (Winter 1999)]

The next event, six weeks later, involved drunken local teenagers who apparently hoped to swim in Binky's pool."Metro News: Mauled Teen Recovering." "Anchorage Daily News" (September 16, 1994).] One nineteen-year-old was hospitalized with leg lacerations after he got too close to the polar bear's cage and was mauled.

After these attacks, Binky received international news coverage and became a hero in Anchorage. [Enge, Marilee. "Binky's Victim Blames Herself: "It Was the Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done." "Anchorage Daily News" (August 2, 1994).] Badger, T.A. (Associated Press). "When It's Bear vs. Tourist, Alaskans Prefer the Bear." "Miami Herald" (September 29, 1994).] Merchandise including t-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers, often adorned with the iconic shoe photo or with the slogan "Send another tourist, this one got away," were popular. Local letters to the editor supported Binky during both incidents, most often arguing that polar bears' dangerousness should be respected. The Zoo's director, Sammye Seawell, criticized Warburton's actions in the "Anchorage Daily News", saying " [s] he violated the rules and jeopardized the bear's life."

Though Seawell initially insisted that the attack would not change how the zoo is run, security around Binky's cage was upgraded to keep zoo visitors out. ["Cheers and jeers." "Anchorage Daily News" (Oct. 27, 1994).]

Binky and cage-mate Nuka died in 1995 of a fungal/bacterial infection to their paws only a few days apart from each other.

ee also

* List of bears
* Bear danger

References