Knutomania

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November 2008
- Polar Bear Twins Born in Zoo
  
  Der Spiegel | Nov 28, 08 8:09 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The mother of polar bear rock star Flocke has just given birth to twins at the Nuremberg zoo, reports Der Speigel . Zoo security has been ramped up to prevent over-eager paparazzi from frightening Vera and her tiny cubs, which are the size of guinea pigs. Polar bear moms eat their young if they feel pressured during the first weeks after giving birth. More »
- Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female
  
  CNN | Nov 26, 08 1:36 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A Japanese zoo is learning it might want to check the plumbing more closely the next time it acquires a polar bear cub, CNN reports. Tsuyoshi was brought to the Kushiro Zoo to breed with 11-year-old Kurumi. But when the cub reached reproductive age, he turned out to be she, which explained why Tsuyoshi wasn't making a move on “his” older lady. More »
- Hunting Canada's Polar Bears Breeds Heated Argument
  
  Economist | Nov 21, 08 4:43 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - One man’s endangered species is another’s livelihood in the Arctic north, where polar bear hunting is this season’s hot-button issue, the Economist reports. Scientists set a sustainable annual quota to protect dwindling species near the Canada-Greenland border, but some Inuit locals—who distrust outsiders and use the bears for blankets, mukluks and stews—refuse to comply. More »
September 2008
- Knut's Surrogate Dad Dead at 44
  
  Der Spiegel | 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 was cut off almost a year ago when the cub became too big to safely play with. More »
April 2008
- Flocke Dives Into the Spotlight
  
  Der Spiegel | Apr 8, 08 2:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The younger and cuter of Germany's celebrity polar bear cubs greeted her adoring public today at the Nuremberg Zoo, Der Spiegel reports. Flocke ("Snowflake") mostly ignored the hundreds of eager reporters waiting to beam her antics across the world, choosing instead to explore her outdoor enclosure and splash in her pool. The zoo is bracing for up to 25,000 visitors per day, starting tomorrow. More »
March 2008
- Knut 'Doesn't Know He's a Polar Bear'
  
  Der Spiegel | 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 15-month-old , Der Spiegel reports. More »
- Snowflake Almost Ready for Adoring Public
  
  Der Spiegel | Mar 14, 08 12:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nuremberg’s favorite polar bear club is growing up fast and should be ready for her public debut by April, Der Spiegel reports. Little Snowflake has already passed through such coming-of-age rituals as her first bone, her first trip outdoors, and a much-needed first bath. Before the bath, Snowflake was apparently a decidedly smelly bear, keepers say. More »
- Knut to Hit the Silver Screen
  
  Canadian Press | 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 »
February 2008
- Knut's Dad Wants a Piece of the Action
  
  Der Spiegel | 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. "We are currently looking into what claims we could have," said a spokesman for Neumunster Zoo. More »
January 2008
- Zoo Braces for Snowflake Mania
  
  Der Spiegel | Jan 31, 08 3:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Polar celebrity Snowflake will meet her adoring public as early as late March, and Nuremberg zoo staff predict a blizzard of attention surrounding its most popular bundle of fur. Annual visitors are expected to jump from 250,000 to 1.3 million, reports Der Spiegel , which has the city readying itself by speeding up public transportation to the zoo. More »
- Cute, or Miserable and Crazy?
  
  Der Spiegel | 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 second psychopath," a bear dependent on humans and clueless about how to interact with her own species. More »
- New Cub Could Out-Cute Knut
  
  Der Spiegel | 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’s called “Flocke,” German for "snowflake." More »
- Burnout fears for new star of Knut circus
  
  Times (UK) | Jan 12, 08
  
  A fluffy star is born: a German polar bear cub is being prepared this weekend for a lifetime, or at least a year, in the limelight to replace the increasingly jowly and charmless Knut. The first step came yesterday when the bear keepers at Nuremberg Zoo dubbed the month-old bear %u201CFloske%u201D, German for Flake. %u201CThat%u2019s because she is snow-white and fragile,%u201D said Horst Maussner, one of a team of three that will try to keep the rejected cub alive. The omens are good %u2013 the cub is guzzling a special milk cocktail every three hours %u2013 but the zoo leadership says it...
- New Cub a Web Sensation
  
  Associated Press | Jan 11, 08 7:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Nuremberg zoo's cuddly new polar bear cub still doesn't have a name, but it does have a website—and a fast-growing legion of smitten fans. "We're getting 15 emails with name suggestions every minute," said a city spokesman. For the time being, zookeepers have dubbed the cub Flocke, German for flake, the AP reports. More »
- Zoo Will Raise Polar Bear Cub After All
  
  Der Spiegel | Jan 9, 08 9:17 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Nuremberg Zoo has reversed its wildly unpopular policy against hand-rearing polar bear cubs, reports Der Speigel . The zoo took the remaining cub away from its mother yesterday after she appeared nervous and started walking around her enclosure with the tiny animal in her mouth. Two other cubs died and were apparently eaten by their mother earlier this week, after the zoo refused to intervene. More »
- Zoo: Polar Bear Cubs Gone, Eaten by Mom
  
  Der Spiegel | Jan 8, 08 9:15 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Two polar bear cubs that captured Germany's attention have died, and the zoo thinks their mother ate them, Der Spiegel reports. The Nuremberg Zoo's decision not to interfere with the cubs' survival, despite reports that the mother might have been neglecting them, caused a storm of criticism, which is now likely to intensify. Zoo officials speculated that the cubs may have died from disease, saying in a statement, "We assume that Vilma took excellent care of her cubs until the end." More »
- Knut's zoo saves new polar bear cub after outcry
  
  Reuters | Jan 8, 08
  
  BERLIN (Reuters Life!) - A zoo in southern Germany, under fire for letting a mother polar bear eat its five-week old cub, has bowed to media and public pressure and decided to hand rear its last surviving baby. The decision by Nuremberg Zoo heralds a second bout of Knut-mania as German television pounced on the news and ran repeated footage of the new cub.
- Zoo Will Let Polar Cubs Die, Rather Than Raise by Hand
  
  Der Spiegel | Jan 6, 08 6:06 PM CST

News Sections

Newser Specials

Stories

Polar Bear Twins Born in Zoo

Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female

Hunting Canada's Polar Bears Breeds Heated Argument

Knut's Surrogate Dad Dead at 44

Flocke Dives Into the Spotlight

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

Snowflake Almost Ready for Adoring Public

Knut to Hit the Silver Screen

Knut's Dad Wants a Piece of the Action

Zoo Braces for Snowflake Mania

Cute, or Miserable and Crazy?

New Cub Could Out-Cute Knut

Burnout fears for new star of Knut circus

New Cub a Web Sensation

Zoo Will Raise Polar Bear Cub After All

Zoo: Polar Bear Cubs Gone, Eaten by Mom

Knut's zoo saves new polar bear cub after outcry

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