No. 4: Knut, the polar bear
Why this one?
Why Knut?
Knut the polar bear was born in the Berlin Zoo at the end of 2006 and spent his first 44 days in an incubator because he was rejected by his mother.
His keeper, Thomas Dörflein, slept in the zoo after Knut's birth to provide round-the-clock care to the cub, and fed him milk six times a day with a bottle.
It is fourth on our list of top animal videos for 2007 -- in part because I have a thing for polar bears, in part because the song is so darn catchy.
While Knut's story is being discussed as a possible movie, Germany's Nuremburg Zoo is taking a decidedly less mushy approach with its recent litter of polar bears. If rejected by their mothers, the zoo plans to let nature take its course and avoid "knutomania."
You can read about it here.
Comments
What the world needs is more Knutmania. Precious Knut has been an uplifting and wholesome influence on the world, especially today's youth. Amazingly, polar bears are being found to be as intelligent as the great apes and emotionally complex. I'm not surprised at all as I've noticed how clever Knut's antics are. Also,they are more docile than I thought. At Churchill, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, only two people have been killed by them since its founding in 1717. The first was a youth who foolishly threw snowballs and chased one only to be pounced on and crushed and the other was a dimwit who stuffed his pockets full of raw meat and proceeded to walk through polar bear country. Sadly the hapless polar bears were hunted down and killed. These magnificent creatures have gruelling existences in the best of times and now with climate changes they face a dire future and need our support and respect more than ever.
Posted by: Karen V. Stefanini | January 16, 2008 10:16 AM
Can anything be cuter than that????
Posted by: marie | January 16, 2008 12:14 PM
I'm so glad they've decided to allow Knut's little relative, the Squawking Baby Girl Polar Bear, to live and grow up. She could be a great advocate and spokes-polar-bear for environmental and global warming issues. They could probably cut back on some of the Knut-mania by rearing her quietly in the background.
Posted by: Anne | January 16, 2008 6:02 PM