A polar bear in the Moscow Zoo has been shot and wounded by an unknown sniper, the zoo said.
The 20-year-old bear, named Wrangel after the Arctic island where he was born, was hit by 11 bullets from a small-caliber gun, the zoo said in a statement posted on its web site.
"Many wounds are visible in his fur, and some of them are still bleeding, raising the danger of infection," it said.
The statement, which merely says it was published in November, said the shots were fired in late October and must have come from an apartment building situated opposite the bear's cage.
"We are deeply outraged by this disgraceful act. Maybe the sniper thinks he is a hero. But what heroism lies in shooting a defenseless animal from a safe place?" the statement said.
It said Wrangel arrived in 1991 at the zoo, where he has fathered two cubs.
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