Berlin zoo: Beloved polar bear Knut has died
gimmesometruth27
St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 23,303
sad news from the berlin zoo today....i know this bear's story was such a feel good story a few years ago and now he has died.
poor Knut...he had a rough go of things since he was born, rejected by his mom, and used as a big draw for the zoo....at least it sounds like he did not suffer.
i hate when things like this happen. we had an elephant that was born here 10 years ago or so who kind of united our community die suddenly here a year or so ago. it was like the symbol of the zoo, and the community at large, had died. i remember they solicited names to be submitted by the public and it was voted on by the people. there were over like 100,000 submitted names or something....
Berlin zoo: Beloved polar bear Knut has died
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110319/ap_ ... knut_death
BERLIN – Berlin's beloved polar bear Knut, who rose to international stardom as a cuddly cub hand-raised by zookeepers, died suddenly on Saturday, a zoo official said.
The world-famous bear died alone in his compound without warning, bear keeper Heiner Kloes told The Associated Press.
"It was a completely normal day: He was with the female bears before, who had just been shut away," Kloes said. "Then, Knut strolled around the enclosure, went into the water, had a short spasm and died."
A post mortem will be conducted on Monday to try to pinpoint the cause of death, he said.
Between 600 and 700 people were at Knut's compound and saw the four-year-old bear die, German news agency DAPD reported.
One visitor said she watched Knut lying on the surface of the water motionless with only his back showing for ten minutes until zookeepers came and fenced off the compound.
"Everybody was asking, 'What's going on, why is Knut not moving?'" said Camilla Verde, a 30-year-old Italian who lives in Berlin.
"All the zoo keepers who put up the fences were so very sad. One of them said, 'He was our baby,'" she said.
As the news of Knut's death spread through the city, more Knut fans showed up at the zoo, assembling in front of the bear compound to mourn his loss.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit called Knut's death "awful."
"We all held him so dear," Wowereit told daily newspaper B.Z. "He was the star of the Berlin zoos."
The polar bear rose to global fame after he was rejected by his mother when he was born in captivity on December 5, 2006. The fluffy cub was shown to the public 15 weeks later, and attendance at the zoo has roughly doubled since, officials said.
"Knutmania" led to a 2007 Vanity Fair cover with actor Leonardo DiCaprio shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, a film and plush likenesses. Though the zoo has never released exact numbers, Knut merchandise including postcards, key chains, candy and stuffed Knuts have brought in hundreds of thousands of euros.
poor Knut...he had a rough go of things since he was born, rejected by his mom, and used as a big draw for the zoo....at least it sounds like he did not suffer.
i hate when things like this happen. we had an elephant that was born here 10 years ago or so who kind of united our community die suddenly here a year or so ago. it was like the symbol of the zoo, and the community at large, had died. i remember they solicited names to be submitted by the public and it was voted on by the people. there were over like 100,000 submitted names or something....
Berlin zoo: Beloved polar bear Knut has died
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110319/ap_ ... knut_death
BERLIN – Berlin's beloved polar bear Knut, who rose to international stardom as a cuddly cub hand-raised by zookeepers, died suddenly on Saturday, a zoo official said.
The world-famous bear died alone in his compound without warning, bear keeper Heiner Kloes told The Associated Press.
"It was a completely normal day: He was with the female bears before, who had just been shut away," Kloes said. "Then, Knut strolled around the enclosure, went into the water, had a short spasm and died."
A post mortem will be conducted on Monday to try to pinpoint the cause of death, he said.
Between 600 and 700 people were at Knut's compound and saw the four-year-old bear die, German news agency DAPD reported.
One visitor said she watched Knut lying on the surface of the water motionless with only his back showing for ten minutes until zookeepers came and fenced off the compound.
"Everybody was asking, 'What's going on, why is Knut not moving?'" said Camilla Verde, a 30-year-old Italian who lives in Berlin.
"All the zoo keepers who put up the fences were so very sad. One of them said, 'He was our baby,'" she said.
As the news of Knut's death spread through the city, more Knut fans showed up at the zoo, assembling in front of the bear compound to mourn his loss.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit called Knut's death "awful."
"We all held him so dear," Wowereit told daily newspaper B.Z. "He was the star of the Berlin zoos."
The polar bear rose to global fame after he was rejected by his mother when he was born in captivity on December 5, 2006. The fluffy cub was shown to the public 15 weeks later, and attendance at the zoo has roughly doubled since, officials said.
"Knutmania" led to a 2007 Vanity Fair cover with actor Leonardo DiCaprio shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, a film and plush likenesses. Though the zoo has never released exact numbers, Knut merchandise including postcards, key chains, candy and stuffed Knuts have brought in hundreds of thousands of euros.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
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Four seems so young, but I don't know how long polar bears live in captivity.
i always hear of how hard it is to get animals such as pandas to even try to reproduce in captivity. it seems like it is big news when they not only have sex, but when one actually gets pregnant. and it is even bigger news when one is born.
i guess Knut was lucky to live as long as he did, as he was rejected by his mom and certainly would have died very quickly had he been left defenseless and helpless in the wild.
i feel bad for the people that cared for him every day. losing him would be the same thing as losing a close friend.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/1 ... e_taken_28
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
World mourns loveable polar bear Knut
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... -bear-knut
The only polar bear to ever be raised entirely by humans—and to have his own Vanity Fair cover photo shoot—died suddenly on Saturday in front of hundreds of his many fans. Knut was only four years old when he collapsed, leaving grieving admirers all over the world to cope with his early death.
The zoo has ordered a necropsy to determine why the bear died so young. Most polar bears live 20 to 30 years in captivity.
The Associated Press reports that mourners flocked to the zoo on Sunday "laying down red roses and white stuffed polar bears, lighting candles or putting up pictures of Knut with personal messages for him." Children wrote farewell poems for him, and a group of "die-hard" fans stayed all day, many of them crying. "I've been crying nonstop since I heard about his death," Ingrid Rommel told the AP. She said visiting Knut weekly since 2006 helped her get over her husband's death.
Animal rights activists are raising questions about Knut's treatment at the zoo, saying zookeepers turned a blind eye to the cub's problems because he was such a popular draw for the facility. In 2007, the Berlin zoo's profits spiked 27 percent from Knut, who brought in millions of dollars in revenue. A spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told the Daily Mail Knut was being bullied by three female bears—Tosca, Nancy and Katjuscha—and should have had his own space away from them.
"PETA Germany repeatedly asked zoo authorities to move Knut away from the three females to a different location. His premature death could possibly have been avoided," PETA said.
Peter Ewins, an arctic species specialist with the World Wildlife Fund, told ABC News some animals react badly to captivity. "Just the effects of being in captivity, it's more of neurological, psychological thing that affects some animals," he said.
Knut was raised by zookeeper Thomas Doerflein after the cub's mother rejected him. Doerflein died from a heart attack in 2008, around the same time that one of Knut's keepers warned he was becoming a "psycho" bear. Doerflein had been banned from playing with Knut because he had become an adult bear and it was too dangerous, leaving Knut sad and lonely.
[Photos: See more of the touching memorials to Knut]
"Knut needs to leave Berlin Zoo, the sooner the better. He's had so much contact with humans in his young life that he doesn't realize he's a polar bear, he needs to get used to a life without the people who brought him up," keeper Markus Roebke told German tabloid Bild Zeitung in 2008, according to ABC. Roebke said the bear was addicted to fame. "He actually cries out or whimpers if he sees that there is no audience outside his compound ready to 'ooh' and 'aah' at him," he said.
Meanwhile, the famous bear's fans on Twitter and Facebook are asking why the bear died, and celebrating his short life. "You were far too young to go. You touched everybody when you were the sweetest baby. Now you are missed by so many people! RIP, sweet, big boy!" wrote one mourner.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/822697 ... -in-berlin
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
And circuses are simply grotesque.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Freaks in a sideshow"--good way of putting it. So sad.
Let's place wild animals in a cage so stupid fucking humans can walk by and say, "wow, look at the leopard."
I hate humans.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110322/sc ... 0322144737
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
That's interesting in that.....could that have been the reason the mother rejected Knut after birth? Maybe she knew something. :idea:
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Oh man, that is heartbreaking to see.....i half wish i hadnt watched it.
I am actually ok with zoos. I have been to at least 5 zoos and all of them are basically animal research facilities. I mean sure it might suck for the one bear or elephant stuck in the habitat, but it seems like a decent trade off in comparison to the amount zoooligists can learn about the whole species. I was at the Vancouver Aquarium early this year and there was a dude talking while they were feeding the dolphins and he talked about how if there weren’t dolphins in captivity humans wouldn’t know nearly as much as they do about those animals.
Plus every zoo I have been to seems to be set up so that most if not all of their profits go towards conservation and protecting animals and their natural habitat. So once again it seems like a fair trade off to have one animal in captivity, if it means the rest of its species can be protected in the wild.