Knut the polar bear dies alone in compound

Knut the polar bear dies alone in compound

Knut, the polar bear raised by his zoo keeper after his mother rejected him, has died in his compound.

By Richard Gray 7:26PM GMT 19 Mar 2011



Officials at Berlin Zoo confirmed the four-year-old bear, which became world-famous after being rejected at birth by his mother, died alone in his compound.

Knut collapsed and died in a pool of water on Saturday afternoon as visitors looked on.

The cause of death is not yet clear, but a post mortem is to be conducted on Monday, said bear keeper Heiner Kloes.

Mr Kloes said: "It was a completely normal day: He was with the female bears before, who had just been shut away. Then, Knut strolled around the enclosure, went into the water, had a short spasm and died."

He was the first bear to be born in captivity at Berlin Zoo for 30 years and attracted more than 100 camera crews from around the world when he first appeared in public in March 2007.

Weighing just 19 pounds at birth, Knut attracted a wave of media coverage after an animal activist said he should be put down after he and his brother, who later died, were rejected by their mother following their birth in December 2006.

His famed peaked when in 2007 he appeared on a Vanity Fair cover with actor Leonardo DiCaprio shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Knut was reared by the zoo, with his keeper Thomas Doerflein bottle-feeding him and strumming Elvis Presley songs for him on his guitar. Doerflein died at age 44 of a heart attack in 2008.

Later in Knut's life, he shared his zoo enclosure with his mother, Tosca, and two other females, Nancy and Katjuscha.

But hopes that Knut might form a romantic attachment with one of the females were dashed as stories emerged of violent maulings.

One video posted online showed Katjuscha hurling herself at Knut's throat, in an apparent attempt to bite him, before tipping him into the water.

Knut generated millions of euros for the Berlin Zoo in lucrative merchandising and extra entrance fees.

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.

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.