Invoking Inuka

Over the last week, Shannon brought up the sad case of Inuka, several times. Inuka was Singapore Zoo’s tropical polar bear (a bit of an oxymoron there) – a mascot in his own right and a somewhat controversial Arctic citizen to our warm and sunny island. He was born here in 1990 and has never known any other home except the Frozen Tundra. He was put down humanely due to his failing health.

An adorable Inuka with his mother. Courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Even before they put him down, she was hoping and praying, by inserting a few lines into our goodnight prayers, for his recovery. I was touched by her concern for him – an animal we’ve only seen several times, swimming around his huge pool, during our last few visits to Mandai. It seems that ever since she heard about his predicament, and read more on the news summary of MSN, he has been on her mind.

On the day they announced his passing, she spent some time watching some videos of his younger years – something about one of his “birthday parties” where he was sharing an ice-cake with his mother Sheba. She was trying to describe it to me, using her hands to pretend to be paws, grappling with an imaginary chunk of ice and then later insisting he get another one. I actually didn’t see the clip, but the way she was trying to act it out was touching, her eyes and tone betraying her emotion and sadness.

I love to see how children develop a sense of empathy and passion for something other than themselves – maybe girls get that faster than boys? How a video, an article, a discussion can evoke a sadness or elation is truly a miracle in itself and reminds me how important it is to pay attention to these little milestones that sometimes occur without us even realising.