Knut geht's nicht so gut
Knut is not doing so well...
Knut isn't a little cub anymore, and he is so used to human contact that he is finding it hard to cope since his keepers have been forbidden to play with him.
Knut has become so used to attention that "he cries when no one is standing in front of his enclosure watching him" (Der Spiegel Article).
For those of you who haven't heard of Knut, he is a polar bear who was born in captivity at a zoo in Berlin, Germany. He was rejected by his mother at birth, and then raised by zookeepers. He has been the subject of international controversy and also a huge tourist attraction and commercial success.
"Knutmania" hit Germany in 2007 when Knut was presented to the public for the first time. Knut was registered as a trademark in 2007, and there have been Knut toys, songs, and DVDs.
The controversy was concerning whether it was right to raise a wild animal as a "domestic pet".
When Knut was cute, he used to draw crowds of people to the Berlin Zoo and get fan mail, but now, just a year later, he is less cute, and gets fewer, and fewer visitors. Poor Knut misses his human trainers, and does not know how to interact with other bears. There are plans to move Knut to to another location so he can get used to being away from his human caregivers. But I am not so sure how he will like that. I feel sorry for the bear, and he reminds me of child stars who find it hard to cope after their fame ends. I also wonder, why the zookeepers are no longer allowed to play with him? They do, after all work with killer whales at Sea World and other wild animals.