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Germany's star polar bear, Knut, dies aged 4
Mar 19, 2011, 15:31 GMT
Berlin - Germany's best-loved and biggest animal star, the polar bear Knut born in captivity in Berlin Zoo, has died aged four, his keeper announced Saturday.
Heiner Kloes, the keeper, found the four-year-old's body floating in the water of the pool in his enclosure.
It was unclear exactly how he died.
'Knutmania' swept Germany, and the world, after his birth in December 2006, when zookeepers had to feed and look after Knut - the first polar cub born in captivity at the Berlin Zoo in more than 30 years - after his mother rejected him.
Attendance at the zoo rocketed, and he even appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.
Knut's place as Germany's best-known exotic animal was nearly eclipsed last year, when Paul the Octopus, kept at a marine world museum, correctly predicted a succession of World Cup matches.
Read more about Germany Nature
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