Berlin zoo criticized as fans mourn death of star polar bear Knut

Mar 20, 2011, 15:13 GMT

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Berlin (dpa) - Fans mourned Sunday the death of Germany's best-loved and biggest animal star, the polar bear Knut, while animal rights activists blamed his death on the Berlin zoo where he was born and raised in captivity.

Visitors to the zoo left flowers and condolence messages, including, 'Goodbye, Knut,' 'We loved you sooo much!' and 'We will miss you, Knut!'

'We had all taken the polar bear into our hearts. He was the star of the Berlin zoo,' said the city's mayor Klaus Wowereit.

Thousands more mourned Knut's death on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. The polar bear had been a media sensation since his birth in 2006, when his mother rejected him and the cub was hand-reared by zoo staff.

On Saturday, Knut keeled over unexpectedly in front of visitors, fell backwards into the water and floated, lifeless, in the moat surrounding the enclosure he shared with his mother Tosca and female bears Nancy and Katyusha.

The cause of Knut's sudden, premature death at the age of four remained unknown. An post-mortem is due later in the week, said his keeper Heiner Kloes.

'Knut behaved normally all day. Then he went into the water, twitched once, turned around and sadly departed from us,' Kloes told public broadcaster RBB.

Polar bears live an average 15 to 18 years in the wild, and it is common for them to reach their mid-to-late thirties in captivity, according to conservation group Polar Bears International.

Animal rights campaigners blamed Knut's death on the conditions in which he was kept at the zoo.

'Berlin Zoo abused Knut as a marketing tool, without consideration for a polar bear's crucial needs,' said the president of the German Animal Rights Association, Wolfgang Apel.

'Knut's short and tortured life shows again that polar bears do not belong in a zoo, even if they are called Knut,' he added.

Zoo Director Bernhard Blaszkiewitz was more stoical about the bear's death.

'The loss is sad for all of us. The death of any animal is bad. But it is a normal procedure in the zoo, which happens time and again,' Blaszkiewitz told the Sunday edition of BZ newspaper.

'Knutmania' swept Germany and the world four years ago, 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.

Attendance at the zoo rocketed, and he even appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. Knut earned the Berlin Zoo an estimated 7 million euros (10 million dollars), and was the subject of lucrative merchandising including telephone ringtones, stamps and jelly beans.

The polar bear featured in two films, and also became an icon of environmental campaigns.

However Knut's short life was studded with misfortune, as the keeper who raised him from birth died of a heart-attack aged 44. In 2009, he gained a female companion, Gianna, but she was sent back to Munich zoo after the two failed to hit it off.

Germany has turned out a series of celebrity animals in recent years, including Paul the Octopus who correctly predicted a succession of World Cup matches, and Heidi, a cross-eyed oppossum living at Leipzig Zoo. Authors: Hans-Rüdiger Bein, Kirsten Baukhage, Gregor Tholl

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