Knut the Famous German Polar Bear Dies Suddenly
Knut the famous German polar bear has died suddenly at Berlin zoo aged 4.
Knut became famous all over the world in 2006 after he was rejected by his mother and started to be hand reared by his keeper Thomas Doerflein.
His death has re-opened the debate about hand rearing and keeping animals in zoos, polar bears are expected to live to about 30 and to die aged 4 is leading people to ask, once again, whether the practice is detrimental to the animal. It was this debate that initially generated such interest in Knut back in 2006.
In 2008 Thomas Doerflein died aged 44. Initial reports from a post mortum being carried out in Germany indicate that Knut may have died because of brain damage after ‘significant changes to the brain’ were found.
Photo: beingmyself
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