Berlin May Lose Knut to Rival

Polar bear under contract with different German zoo

By Sarah Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 3, 2008 11:50 AM CST

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Berlin May Lose Knut to Rival — Zookeeper Thomas Doerflein kisses Knut during the polar bear cub's first public appearance at the Zoo of Berlin on March 23, 2007, (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

The world's favorite polar bear may be bidding auf wiedersehen to the Berlin Zoo. Cuddly tourist attraction Knut actually belongs to the north German zoo his father came from, and a move is expected in the first half of 2009. "We entered into a contract which stated that the first surviving cub is owned by Neumuenster Zoo," said the Berlin Zoo's director. But Berlin officials want to keep Knut—and the extra $6.3 million he pulled in last year, the BBC reports.

"Berlin must not give Knut away—it would be like losing a family friend," a tourism official said. (More Knut stories.)

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