At the heart of Nora’s story is a complicated question: Are zoos helping animals or hurting them? PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has taken a hard stance against zoos. Some parents won’t take their young children to see animals they say are being exploited for our entertainment.

But few animals live as nature intended anymore. Not the rhinos, who are butchered for their horns; or the elephants, who are out of space; not the orangutans, who have lost their homes to palm oil plantations. Not the manatee, the mountain gorilla, the poison dart frog or even our own pets.

Read Chapter Four of 'The Loneliest Polar Bear' at http://projects.oregonlive.com/projectnora/4-5/

Gov. Kate Brown has overruled her own policy board to make child care facilities test for lead in drinking water.