I seriously don’t know what’s going on in the world right now, everything seems crazy and out of control, and now to top it all off Knut is dead! The super adorable polar bear kept at the Berlin Zoo died suddenly at the age of just four. He became an international sensation back in ’06 after his mother rejected him and was then raised by zookeeper Thomas Dörflein (who also died suddenly back in ’08). His cuteness will be seriously missed, being the animal lover I am, this story just broke my heart!
The zoo’s bear expert, Heiner Klös told the German news agency DPA that the bear collapsed and died on Saturday while in the water in the zoo’s polar bear enclosure. Klös told DPA that between 600 and 700 visitors had witnessed Knut’s death. According to Klös, the polar bear was alone in the compound at the time. The zoo plans to perform an autopsy on Knut to clarify the cause of death. Part of his fame was due to the bear’s close relationship to Thomas Dörflein, the photogenic zookeeper who became his replacement mother and hand-reared the cub. Dörflein died unexpectedly in September 2008 at the age of 44. SOURCE
