# Popular Berlin Polar Bear Knut dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 19, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287 "2011-03-19T21:19:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/1 "2011-03-19T21:19:12Z")
I recall a couple years ago there were a bunch of pictures of Knut as a cub. Very cute little thing that had been abandoned by his mother. > **[Knut (polar bear)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knut_%28polar_bear%29)** > > Knut (German pronunciation: \[ˈknuːt\] (listen); 5 December 2006 – 19 March 2011) was an orphaned polar bear born in captivity at the Berlin Zoological Garden. Rejected by his mother at birth, he was raised by zookeepers. He was the first polar bear cub to survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in more than 30 years. At one time the subject of international controversy, he became a tourist attraction and commercial success. After the German tabloid newspaper Bild ran a quote from an animal ri pics [![](https://katabasis.cementhorizon.com/archives/knut-the-polar-bear-berlin-zoo-4-07.jpg) ](https://katabasis.cementhorizon.com/archives/knut-the-polar-bear-berlin-zoo-4-07.jpg) [![](http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42705000/jpg/_42705293_knut2_pa_gal.jpg) ](http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42705000/jpg/_42705293_knut2_pa_gal.jpg) [![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVLJm9IHkZk/TPvvknLRZBI/AAAAAAAAC4Q/5TC_xO1ibpo/s640/Knut.jpg) ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RVLJm9IHkZk/TPvvknLRZBI/AAAAAAAAC4Q/5TC_xO1ibpo/s640/Knut.jpg) > **[US](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/)** > > From the US election and Biden's presidency, to gun control and abortion rights; stay up-to-date with the latest lines and comment with The Telegraph. I’m sure the zoo staff is shattered by this. They hand raised the little guy. He should have lived fifteen or more years. It’s sad. Maybe the mother bear sensed there was something wrong when she rejected the cub? Sometimes nature knows more than we do. he died in front of several hundred guests. ☹ > **[Fans mourn Knut's death at Berlin zoo](https://www.foxnews.com/world/fans-mourn-knuts-death-at-berlin-zoo)** > > Fans of polar bear Knut are laying flowers at Berlin zoo to mourn the sudden death of the bear who as a cub became a household name. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/2 "2011-03-19T21:33:17Z")
I’m very sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/3 "2011-03-19T21:35:16Z")
Aw, that is sad. So long, little bear…we hardly Knut ya… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/4 "2011-03-19T21:41:02Z")
I hope nobody tries to eat his liver. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/5 "2011-03-19T22:10:02Z")
It’s amazing how cuddly baby animals can be. Polar bears are one of the most dangerous predators in the world. Even after hand raising Knut, I read that the keepers couldn’t get near him as an adult. The pictures of bear cubs are soooo cute. I always have a soft spot for animals. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/6 "2011-03-20T01:34:55Z")
What is particularly odd (imho) is that the zookeeper who cared for him as a cub died of a heart attack at the age of 44 when Knut was not quite 2 years old. Sad all around. I wonder what killed Knut so young. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/7 "2011-03-20T02:26:19Z")
I assume he just died from a heart attack. Sad to hear about. I think polar bears can live 25+ years, too, so this is a very young death. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/8 "2011-03-22T01:45:46Z")
Here is the video of his death. Looks like a heart attack. WARNING: The link below may disturb you. Do not watch unless you want to. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player\_embedded&v=YlC1KIlVYyw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YlC1KIlVYyw) ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/9 "2011-03-22T05:02:46Z")
That’s interesting 'cause the polar bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago also circles around and around for no reason, like Knut was doing before he died. The polar bear will circle and circle for like 15 minutes then dive in the water and pop back out then start circling again and then do something, the go back to circling. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/10 "2011-03-22T11:26:25Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > That’s interesting 'cause the polar bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago also circles around and around for no reason, like Knut was doing before he died. > > The polar bear will circle and circle for like 15 minutes then dive in the water and pop back out then start circling again and then do something, the go back to circling. Most caged animals do this when they’re in a pen much smaller than their natural habitat. Polar bears’ range is several hundred miles, IIRC so even though the exhibit is nice, it’s not going to be even close to mimicking his natural habitat. Enter neuroses. Many zoos now employ therapists who try to come up with activities to alleviate this neurotic behavior, but it’s obviously not an ideal situation for the animal. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/11 "2011-03-22T15:41:05Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/12 "2011-03-22T16:54:28Z")
It says that the autopsy showed that Knut was born with some type of brain damage which caused his early demise—Is it possible that somehow the mother bear could sense this about Knut, and that’s why she rejected him from birth, eventually causing him to be raised by the zookeepers by hand? Don’t some animals seemingly have the ability to sense even invisible imperfections in their own offspring, and then refuse to nurture them, leading the deformed baby critters to die off? Seems I saw a National Geographic PBS special about wild horses that seemed to suggest this. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/13 "2011-03-22T17:41:54Z")
I’ve been wondering the same thing, MPB. Yes, mother mammals can tell when a baby isn’t healthy or thriving and often do reject them. Knut’s brain damage might have caused him to act unexpectedly for a bear cub, causing his mother to react badly. It might have affected his odor too, causing him to smell wrong, but that’s just a hypothetical. Who knows what a mother bear expects her cub to smell like. RIP, little bear. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/14 "2011-03-22T17:48:07Z")
His natural life was extended and he was provided with the best possible surroundings given his condition, so thank goodness for that. So long little fella, you sure were a crowd pleaser. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-berlin-polar-bear-knut-dies/575287/15 "2011-03-22T23:36:13Z")
Dang, I wanted to start a new thread about this to fertilize the “Sequential thread” threads with the title: **Knut-cracker Ends Run at Berlin Zoo** or **Berlin Zoo Takes Massive Blow to Knut-s** Too soon?