Rare Bunny With No Ears Killed by Cameraman

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:





A baby rabbit born with no ears was being filmed by a news team when the cameraman stepped on him by mistake on Wednesday. The bunny didn't suffer, said the distraught director of the zoo in Germany who had hoped to turn the rare rabbit into a media star.

The future had looked so bright for tiny Til, a baby rabbit born without ears three weeks ago in a small zoo in Limbach-Oberfrohna in Saxony, eastern Germany. Earless rabbits are very rare, and that factor combined with his cuteness would surely have made him a media celebrity, especially in Germany, which has a history of worshipping furry baby animals.

But then fate struck. Til was meant to be presented to the press at a news conference on Thursday and the zoo had invited a TV camera team to film him lolloping about happily ahead of the big day. Here is what happened next in the words of Uwe Dempewolf, the director of the zoo, who was still shaken when SPIEGEL ONLINE telephoned him on Wednesday afternoon.

'We Are All Shocked'

"We are all shocked. During the filming, the cameraman took a step back and trod on the bunny," Dempewolf said. "He was immediately dead, he didn't suffer. It was a direct hit. No one could have foreseen this. Everyone here is upset. The cameraman was distraught." ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,821389,00.html

[Demonaut]

1. didn't hear it coming.....I know, I know...feel terrible for the cameraman too

at least it didn't suffer

[joeybee12]

2. That sucks...I know it was unintentional...BUT

These fucking zoos need to realize they are inviting people in who are not usually around animals...anything could happen and it did in this case.

[Snake Alchemist]

3. If the cameraman was supposed to be there filming him, what is the excuse for not having his eye on

him?

[greytdemocrat]

4. Have the man shot!!!

[pansypoo53219]

5. yeah. lol.

'put im down'. giggle.

[EC]

6. I feel for that cameraman

When I was younger my parents had a parakeet they let fly loose, I sat on it. They didn't tell me until the next day when I asked where the bird was...man I still get upset and that was over 40 years ago.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. omg. what a tragedy.