Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: Berlin Zoo

Berlin Zoo stories: 18 news summaries

 Knut Will Stay in Berlin 


Jul 8, 09 4:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Berlin Zoo’s prized polar bear, Knut, isn’t going anywhere, Der Spiegel reports. Officials there will pay $600,000 to a rival zoo to settle an ownership dispute. Given Knut's bankability as a bona fide world star, it's a bargain. The bear, not yet 3 years old,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Knut • Berlin Zoo • celebrity • polar bear • animal • Neumünster

 Polar Bear Chomps 
 German Zoo Visitor  

She survives with serious injuries after entering enclosure

Apr 12, 09 9:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - A woman survived a polar bear attack in a Berlin Zoo enclosure when keepers pulled her to safety after knocking the animal away, the Daily Telegraph reports. One of four bears in the enclosure attacked the woman in a moat after she entered—a feat that required jumping a fence,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Berlin Zoo • polar bear • animal attack

 Knut Needed Hug: 
 Zoo Intruder 

Unidentified man scales wall to get closer to polar bear in Berlin

Dec 22, 08 1:05 PM CST
(Newser) - A German man says he climbed over a Berlin Zoo barrier today because the polar bear needed a hug, Bloomberg reports. The unidentified man, 37, apparently believed the animal—which drew 3.2 million visitors last year—was lonely. “He wanted to keep Knut company,” police said. Knut,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
crime • Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear • arrest • zookeeper

 Berlin May Lose Knut to Rival 

Polar bear under contract with different German zoo

Dec 3, 08 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) - 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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear • Neumuenster Zoo

 Knut's Surrogate Dad 
 Dead at 44 

Police doubt foul play in death of Dörflein, long ill

Sep 22, 08 3:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thomas Dörflein, the Berlin zookeeper who raised polar bear Knut after his mother rejected him, was found dead in his apartment today, Der Spiegel reports. He was 44. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play; Dörflein had been very sick. The keeper’s contact with Knut... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • obituary • zookeeper • surrogates • Thomas Dorflein

Knut 'Doesn't Know He's a Polar Bear'

Overexposed to humans, celebrity animal is miserable

Mar 25, 08 6:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Poor Knut: The celebrity polar bear, no longer the ball of fluff who captivated animal lovers around the world, is miserable without human contact and doesn't realize he isn't a person. "Knut must go. As soon as possible," a keeper at the Berlin Zoo said of the 300-pound... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • zoo • Thomas Doerflein • polar bear • zookeeper • bear • anthropomorphizing

Berlin Zoo Accused of Selling Animals for Slaughter

Politician says director sold hippo, bear family

Mar 19, 08 2:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - A German politician has filed a criminal complaint against the director of the Berlin Zoo, accusing him of selling animals for slaughter, Der Spiegel reports. The complaint cites examples of a hippopotamus and a family of bears allegedly sold in Belgium. Bernhard Blaszkiewitz vehemently denied the accusations, which he described... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • breeding • Berlin • Berlin Zoo • Green Party • hippopotamus • Bernhard Blaszkiewitz • bear • exotic animals

Knut to Hit the Silver Screen

Documentary follows star bear cub from tiny fluffball to frightening teen

Mar 3, 08 6:30 AM CST
(Newser) - Once celebrity polar bear Knut got big and his fluffy fur gained a yellowish-gray tint, public attention turned to younger, cuter bears. But now the spotlight is back on the Berlin Zoo's most famous orphan, with the premiere of a new documentary called Knut and Friends, the Canadian Press reports. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Berlin • Knut • Berlin Zoo • documentary • polar bear

Knut's Dad Wants a Piece
of the Action

Rival zoo says it's entitled to share star polar bear's earnings

Feb 15, 08 2:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Knut, the polar bear superstar of the Berlin Zoo, has all the trappings of celebrity—fame, money, a Hollywood deal, and now, family members looking to cash in. The zoo that owns his dad, Lars, says it deserves some of the millions Knut has raked in, Der Spiegel reports.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear • Neümunster Zoo • Lars • exploitation

Cute, or Miserable and Crazy?

Critics say bottle-feeding polar bear cub will produce 'a second psychopath'

Jan 15, 08 11:20 AM CST
(Newser) - The Nuremberg zoo's new polar bear cub, cute as she is, is highlighting the sometimes stark and brutal condition the animals face in captivity. Some biologists say the decision to bottle-feed the cub after her mother rejected her—as was done with superstar bear Knut—will only produce "a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear • Flocke

New Cub Could Out-Cute Knut

Nuremberg's tiny 'Snowflake' draws legions of fans, setting up rivalry

Jan 14, 08 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) - There’s a new polar bear in Germany, and Knut had better watch his back, reports Der Spiegel, because the Nuremberg zoo’s 2.4-kilo baby bruin is drawing international attention for being so gosh darn cute. Fans have sent 15,000 name suggestions since Friday, but for now she’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • zoo • polar bear • Nuremburg Zoo • Flocke • Snowflake

Zoo Will Let Polar Cubs Die, Rather Than Raise by Hand

Nuremburg doesn't want  'Knutomania'

Jan 6, 08 6:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Officials at a Nuremburg zoo have vowed not to rescue the cubs of two polar bears who gave birth about a month ago, even though one is showing signs of disinterest in her offspring, leaving them to cry plaintively for long periods of time. Zoo officials say they don't want... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Knut • Berlin Zoo • zoo • polar bear • movie deal • Nuremburg Zoo • animal

Knut Goes Hollywood

World's most famous polar bear cub to star in animated movie

Dec 31, 07 10:34 AM CST
(Newser) - The Berlin Zoo is about to make even more money off Knut, the once-adorable and now rather large polar bear cub raised by keepers from infancy after his mother rejected him. Hollywood is hoping to make an animated movie about Knut and his keeper Thomas Dörflein, and is ready... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear • movies

Knut Mania Triggers Rift at Zoo

Polar bear's promoter leaves in dispute over marketing

Dec 13, 07 4:30 PM CST
(Newser) - A savvy marketing campaign that turned cuddly Knut into the world's most famous polar bear has driven a wedge between his human handlers. The Berlin Zoo's finance director, the man who made Knut the poster bear for global warming and turned a tidy profit for the zoo in the process,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • Leonardo DiCaprio • Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear

Roly-Poly
Polar Bear
Goes on a Diet

Keepers cut off celebrity cub Knut's supply of croissants

Aug 1, 07 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Superstar polar bear Knut has been put on a diet after growing too fat to be weighed on the Berlin Zoo's scales. Knut's Brando-style transformation came about from eating too many croissants and second helpings of meat and fish, leaving him a visibly stuffed bear. "Knut has become noticeably... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • weight • diet • exercise • polar bear • animal

Party's Over for Celebrity Polar Bear

Berlin Zoo pulls plug on superstar cub's public tussling with keepers

Jul 9, 07 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Berlin Zoo is putting the kibosh on the crowd-pleasing daily wrestling match between celebrity polar bear Knut and his keepers. He'll still be on display, but at just over 7 months old, Knut tips the scales at 110 pounds, and his increasing ferocity has been making the "Knut... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Knut • Berlin Zoo • polar bear

'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'

As camera-ready polar bear grows more fearsome, the 'aww' factor diminishes

Jun 1, 07 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Anyone who's ever had a nightmare about stuffed animals coming to life can relate to what Thomas Doerflein is going through. The zookeeper who's been celebrity polar bear cub Knut 's surrogate mother since the little camera hog was an adorable ball of fluff finds himself on the business end... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Knut • Berlin Zoo • zoo • Thomas Doerflein • polar bear • zookeeper • animal

It's Not Easy Being Knut

Death threat to polar bear cub on heels of  health scare

Apr 19, 07 5:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Knut watchers were on high alert yesterday after the Berlin Zoo's polar bear cub was targeted with an anonymous death threat, just a day after recovering from a health scare that turned out to be a toothache. The 4-month-old alarmed visitors Monday by refusing to frolic, lying on the ground... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Germany • Knut • Berlin Zoo • zoo • polar bear • animal

18 Stories


from our news partners