Knut the polar bear dies of an epileptic fit

According to post-mortem results, famous polar bear Knut, who collapsed and passed away at a Berlin Zoo in Germany last month, died due to an epileptic seizure.

Knut, a polar bear cub born in captivity at the Berlin Zoological Garden on December 5, 2006, was initially rejected by his mother and subsequently raised by zookeepers. He marked a significant milestone by being the first polar bear cub to survive beyond infancy at the Berlin Zoo in over three decades. Once a topic of international debate, he evolved into a major tourist attraction and commercial phenomenon. When a German tabloid, Bild, published a quote from an animal rights advocate criticizing the cub’s captivity, fans globally came together to support his hand-raising by humans. Protests by children took place outside the zoo, alongside a wave of e-mails and letters expressing compassion for the cub from across the world.

Knut triggered a worldwide media craze known as “Knutmania,” leading to the production of toys, media specials, DVDs, and books. This phenomenon contributed significantly to an estimated revenue surge of around five million euros at the Berlin Zoo in 2007. That year, zoo attendance reportedly increased by approximately 30 percent, marking it the most profitable year in the institution’s 163-year existence.

The bear was born to Tosca, a 20-year-old former circus performer from East Germany with Canadian origins, and Lars, her 13-year-old mate from Munich’s Tierpark Hellabrunn. Knut and his unnamed sibling entered the world on December 5, 2006, after a straightforward gestation. For reasons unknown, Tosca abandoned her cubs on a rock within the polar bear enclosure. Zookeepers rescued the cubs using an extended fishing net, but tragically, Knut’s brother succumbed to an infection just four days later. Knut became the first polar bear born and to survive at the Berlin Zoo in over 30 years, initially weighing as much as a guinea pig. He spent the first 44 days of his life in an incubator, prior to the beginning of zookeeper Thomas Dörflein’s caretaking.

Dörflein’s commitment to Knut required him to sleep on a mattress each night next to the cub’s sleeping crate, in addition to regularly playing with, bathing, and feeding the cub. Initially, Knut’s diet consisted of baby formula mixed with cod liver oil every two hours, transitioning at four months old to a mixture of milk porridge, cat food, and vitamins. Dörflein also took part in the cub’s public shows, appearing in numerous videos and photographs alongside him, ultimately achieving minor celebrity status in Germany. He was awarded Berlin’s Medal of Merit for his dedicated care of the cub.

On September 22, 2008, Dörflein unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack at the age of 44.

^{Witnesses indicated that Knut had begun to shake his rear left leg, becoming agitated before going into convulsions and falling backwards into the pool, an event witnessed by around 600 to 700 zoo visitors.}

^{A statement regarding the necropsy released on March 22 noted “significant changes in the brain, which may be viewed as a cause for the sudden death”. Initially, animal welfare groups in Germany accused the Berlin Zoo of negligence, asserting that Knut’s death resulted from stress related to sharing his enclosure with three female polar bears.}

^{However, the Zoo rejected these allegations. Bear curator Heiner Klös asserted that they “did everything possible to care for Knut—it’s typical for polar bears to share space in a zoo, and the intent was for Knut to learn social behavior and skills from the older females…He played with the other bears and appeared relaxed and strong”.}

^{by Jeff Millins}