Polar Bear Attack in N.Y.

My reaction was horror when I first read the report (Times, May 20) of the tragic polar bear attack at the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn. But, as the day went on and I heard the news reported by the electronic media my horror was surpassed by outrage.

My outrage is at the media, which took great pains to make sure we heard all the gory details, especially how the killer bears were killed with 20 blasts from two shotguns and emptying a .38 caliber revolver into them. After which they were cut open to see if there were bodies inside.

Sensational reporting only heightens the bloodthirsty violence and revenge people seem to seek against, not only animals, but each other. If we want to bring wild animals into a captive situation, which I believe can have great value for education and behavioral research, we must be ready to handle them humanely and responsibly. We must stop punishing animals for doing the very thing we want them to do--be wild animals.

The media do irreparable damage to the conservation of wildlife when they portray these animals as bloodthirsty killers exhibiting what was, for them, a totally natural response when their territory was invaded.

We must teach our children to have respect for animals, for the powerful, incredible creatures they are. But, we all must face the truth that there is only one animal on earth that kills for sport and that is man.

EUGENIA KOENKER

Hawthorne