Berlin rallies behind baby bear

[maycm]

Berlin Zoo has vowed it will not kill a baby polar bear amid a heated row over whether it is right to hand-rear the cub, who was rejected by his mother. Knut has been nurtured by a keeper who has slept by his side, bottle-fed him, and strummed him Elvis Presley songs.

But suggestions the three-month-old should have been put down to stop him becoming emotionally and physically reliant on a human have caused outrage. "We are keeping Knut," Berlin zoo's vet told the BBC. "He's staying alive."

The zoo says Knut should be strong enough to make his first public appearance at the end of this week, having amassed an army of fans who have followed his development - from walking to weaning - in the city's newspapers. He has already posed for the world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz as part of an environmental campaign, and next week is to be the subject of a documentary series by German broadcaster ARD. But ahead of his debut, several voices have questioned the decision to keep him alive after he was rejected by his mother, a 20-year-old former performing bear from East Germany.

Both Knut and his twin were left exposed to freezing temperatures shortly after they were born in December. Knut's brother died, at which point the zoo intervened to save the surviving cub. "One should have had the courage to let the bear die then," said Wolfram Graf-Rudolf, head of the Aachen Zoo, cited by the Sueddeutsche newspaper.

The zookeeper, who has watched the hand-rearing of two animals, said Knut will find life intolerable once bars inevitably come between him and his carer. "Each time his keeper leaves him, and he can't follow, he will die a little." Frank Albrecht, an animal rights campaigner, had started the debate in the mass-circulation Bild newspaper by declaring the zoo was violating animal protection legislation by keeping him alive. "If truth be told, the zoo should have killed the baby bear."

Animals similarly rejected by their mothers in captivity have in the past been killed. Last December, a baby sloth was put down at Leipzig zoo after his mother refused to care for him. But each case is individual, argues Andre Schuele, Berlin Zoo's vet, and should be decided on their own merits. "Knut was a healthy baby bear when we found him and so there was no reason for us to put him down," he said. "And there's certainly no reason to do so now."

To help Knut gain independence, he was already being left on his own for a couple of hours each day, and had been weaned off the bottle. Polar bears were lonesome creatures, and so spending several years without the company of other bears would not be a problem, said Mr Schuele. The cub will however eventually be introduced to others - although not back to his own family in Berlin Zoo. "He will go to another zoo," said Mr Schuele. "Eventually, we will find him a new home."

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Kill the bear? What a bunch of silly Knuts. Maybe his supporters should start selling T Shirts to compete with the FCUK brand.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

This makes me sick.

It's disgusting to think they'd even consider killing this beautiful creature, and for no good reason whatsoever.

Why did they save it if they're thinking of killing it the pathetic bastards.

Animal activists will be all over them for this not to mention the public, and I hope they wage a bloody riot if they even attempt to destroy it.

[Sheffman]

... I saw the little fella on TV, he was really cute

[eefanincan]

[nekokate]

How dare they even consider killing him?

This story brought tears to my eyes. If they put him down I will break something!

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[faceless]

I've seen those poor bastards spend their lives swaying their heads from side to side in a vain attempt to alter their consciousnesses rather than stay still and accept the bleak surroundings they've been forced into. In fact, I've not been back to any zoo since seeing how these creatures were kept.

If there was a choice to die or be stuck there forever, I'm sure the bears would take it too. They roam over hundreds of miles naturally yet are kept in enclosures of a few hundred feet. That's just plain and simple abuse.

These particular animal activists are fighting the wrong battle - what possible benefit is there in a bear with natural behaviour (unaffected by humans) in a zoo? It doesn't even make the slightest bit of sense as they are already in a human environment.


I

[IRiSHMaFIA]

He has to be one of the cutest lil buggers I've ever seen awwww

[Sheffman]

... Diana's quite cute as well

[Skylace]

I'm in polar bear love!

[Lostinthestates]

The animal rights activists are saying that the bear will get too attached to the keeper - and will always miss him! Sort of being love-sick for the rest of his life and not being accepted by his peers! I don't know - but with the natural habitat of the ice-bear disappearing keeping them alive in captivity might be the only way of keeping these amazing creatures from going extinct!

PS: I do think Knut the ice-bear is absolutely adorable

[faceless]

Not so cute now!
6th July 2007

Four months ago a cuddle from Knut the baby polar bear was a fluffy nuzzle. These days he's a little more boisterous. And so are his bear hugs. Knut has been hand-raised by Doerflein and other zoo staff after his mother rejected him and another cub that died

Keeper Thomas Doerflein, who has been hand-rearing Knut, believes the carefree days of tumbling around with him in his den could soon be over. At a hefty 92lb, Knut is simply too powerful to play with. "He now sometimes has temper tantrums when he's hungry or when he wants something and doesn't get it," Mr Doerflein said. "Then he gives me a really good bite. He is, after all, a predator."

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[major.tom]

[SpursFan1902]