Knut, the polar bear who had lived in the Berlin zoo for about four years, cared for by the zoo veterinarians and loved by all Germans, has died. The story of the bear, first repudiated by his mother and then adopted by an employee of the Zoologischer Garten, have been the subject of news and curiosities from German citizens and tourists for months, both for the sad story of which he was the protagonist, and for its tender affectionate aspect.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Knut is dead, the polar bear who had lived in the Berlin zoo, looked after by zoo veterinarians and loved by all Germans. The story of the bear, first repudiated by his mother and then adopted by an employee of the Zoologischer Garten, have been the subject of news and curiosities from German citizens and tourists for months, both for the sad story of which he was the protagonist, and for its tender affectionate aspect.
In fact, Knut, born in December 2006, was the first polar bear born at the Berlin zoo that, in over thirty years had managed to survive infancy, followed and raised in the Berlin zoo by the guardian Thomas Doerflein, who had started to raise him with a bottle and to sleep with him. In a short time - also following the controversy that arose from a German activist according to which it was better to kill knut than to make him grow up as a domestico animals that made the whole world indignant - Knut has become a real media star, so much so that she even ended up on the cover of the American edition of “Vanity Fair” and on German postage stamps.
After such a successful decline: last Saturday the bear's body was seen floating lifeless on the water of the Berlin zoo by over 600 visitors: a shock for tourists but above all for the employees - as reported by Heiner Kloes, head of bears in the zoo.
Based on the first autopsy data, the bear seems to have died of a broken heart, following the loss of his partner Gianna, who died last July. After Gianna, two other young bears arrived, Nancy and Katjuscia, in the zoological center of Berlin, together with her mother Tosca, who had abandoned Knut immediately after her birth. The bears who shared his spaces, however, had immediately started to annoy Knut, often attacking him in the neck.
From there, the bear Knut seems to have started a decline, which then worsened with the arrival of a brain disease, which soon led to his death. The autopsy in fact revealed brain alterations that could be linked to death. Meanwhile, in the Berlin zoo where Knut lived, the idea of building a statue in memory of the tender bear is circulating.
This is a story that, however, in our opinion should make everyone reflect and reopen the debate on the real need to keep zoological gardens open. If Knut had been born and raised in his natural habitat, probably no one would have talked about him, but perhaps he would have lived longer… what do you think?
Verdiana Amorosi
Find out more about Knut's story
