Knut » Berlin Zoo

11-12-2008

Something tells me most of the people who commented don't: He has no other bears for company, all the conditions in Berlin zoo are excellent, Knut looked so sad and alone, and of course "Elizabeth's" comments.
The public are fools lol.

11-12-2008

Would anyone who knows about it please comment on what I wrote earlier in this thread:

11-12-2008

He's in an enclosure next to the brown bears (at least he was last year), he was never mixed with the adult polar bears.

11-12-2008

Yep that`s correct, I believe he has some contact with an ancient old moon bear in his very first months, but since that, he`s all on his own in the former spectacled bear enclosure.

11-12-2008

Ah I'd seen a video of him running past a Sloth bear, wondered why it was there. Do they no longer live together?

13-12-2008

In the wild, cubs stay with their mother for much longer than the period Knut was handraised for. Its unsurprising that when seperated from his carers- because he was already growing big and dangerous- he gave continual 'lost' distress vocalisations, as in the wild he'd still be with his mother/sibling at that stage, or if separated trying to find them again..

However I don't see why Knut can't be integrated with other Polar Bears successfully in the future.

Its interesting how the massive interest level surrounding this cub was similar to the hysteria produced by London's cub 'Brumas' in the early 1950's. Interest levels in her also diminished rapidly as she grew out of her 'cute' baby stage and after a year or so only the name 'Brumas' remained famous. As an adult bear she had no special appeal or interest for visitors at all.

14-12-2008

Thanks everbody for answering my question about Knut. The observation of Pertinax is touching and troublesome:

"In the wild, cubs stay with their mother for much longer than the period Knut was handraised for. Its unsurprising that when seperated from his carers- because he was already growing big and dangerous- he gave continual 'lost' distress vocalisations, as in the wild he'd still be with his mother/sibling at that stage, or if separated trying to find them again.."

This would of course be an argument against the handraising of polar bear cubs. I am not at all sure, but maybe the animal rights activists were right on this one?

14-12-2008

True...but if you didn't hand-raise them, the activists would be on you in a second calling you "cruel" and "inhumane" for letting nature take it course It's a double edged sword really...

Knut seems to stand out having negative side effects of being hand-reared. Toronto Zoo had an orphaned male polar bear Inukshuk who was also hand-raised, but I haven't heard of any abnormal behavior from him (then again, I haven't been able to find out any information on where he's gone to either). Nikita and Aurora were also hand-raised, but the prescence of each other probably helped to remind them of who they were. Would polar bear fosters ever work in this situation? It's worked with other mammals before...

17-12-2008

There are moats between the enclosures. From the right it's: Knut, Slothbears, Moonbears, Sunbears

Pics from Sunday:

Knuts enclosure:



Knut in the Moat:



Knut having sex with a pillow:

23-12-2008

Yesterday a 37 year old man jumped into the water moat of Knuts Exhibit, because he was the opinion, Kunt is lonely and alone...The Keepers couldn't move the man to leave the exhibit, they fed Knut with a cattle leg, so he wasn't interested in the man. He could be saved by the Police and was not hurt.

A few years ago, another crazy man jumped into the exhibit with the entire group of polar bears....A female played a while with him, until he could be saved, injured, but alive, by the keepers.

23-12-2008

Its not look its a good exbith. I hope he come to Orsa Bear Park in North Sweden. Here , its cold, and like Dan and Swedish Zoo Fan say , its the biggest polar exbith in the world , when it opend in may 2008.


I really wont Knut move too Sweden.

24-12-2008

Idiot! And if he'd got mauled, it would have been Knut's fault and he would have been put down. Very sad and stuid

24-12-2008

First the idiot @ San Fransisco with the rhino and now this! Why do people get "dumber" when they go to zoos? Also, I would love to have Knut come to the US - revitalize our polar bear genes (Even though this probably won't happen!)

24-12-2008

Surely if this idiot is that stupid to jump into a polar bear enclosure, its the idiot who should be put down (Wont be a great loss to the gene pool )

24-12-2008

I agree with you it would be no loss to the human gene pool if he had been killed so very nearly a candidate for the next Darwin Awards!!!