Knut Is Sick!

[Viking]

Berlin Zoo's Polar Bear Knut Is Sick


Apr 16, 9:29 AM (ET)


BERLIN (AP) - The Berlin Zoo's popular polar bear cub, Knut, is not feeling well and had his daily public appearance in front of thousands of visitors cut short Monday after only 30 minutes.

The zoo's veterinarian, Andre Schuele, put the 4 1/2-month old cub on antibiotics and said the Knut is "off stage to get some rest while we watch him closely."

There was no specific diagnosis "but he is still a young animal and therefore susceptible to infections," Schuele said.

"At the moment he is resting on his blanket and sleeping," Schuele said, adding that despite his lethargy Knut did eat his regular meal in the morning.


http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/GERMANY_POLAR_BEAR.sff_YBER107_20070409080004.jpg


Thousands of people line up each day to see the cub, and his button-eyed face has been a fixture for newspapers, television and the Internet.

Born at the zoo on Dec. 5, Knut - who was rejected by his mother and hand-raised by zookeepers - rose to fame last month thanks to television and newspaper pictures. So potent is his appeal that zoo attendance has roughly doubled to 15,000 on average daily since his debut, officials said. He has his own blog and TV show and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Veterinarian Schuele did not know if Knut would be strong enough for public appearances in the next days.

"We don't know yet - the little one is not a machine," he said.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070416/D8OHNL080.html

[Ally_Kat]

:(

http://xee.xanga.com/2f2c0ae636034117953867/w81387582.jpg

Feel better, cutie-pie!

[Viking]

Probably just gas from that zookeeper he gnawed on. We Krauts are a spicy lot......:D :killer:

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by Viking
We Krauts are a spicy lot......:D :killer:

I dunno about spicy, I would say we're very filling and sit heavy in the stomach sometimes.

[Dan]

Hope the little guy gets better.

[sadaist]

That bear has some fucking mighty big paws. Maybe he just needs a bottle of Coca Cola.

[Viking]

Judging from those pics, I'd say he had a little Captain Morgan mixed in with that Coke....:D :bottle:

[DavidLeeNatra]

he gets his "second teeth"...that's all... ;)

he's fine again

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by DavidLeeNatra
he gets his "second teeth"...that's all... ;)

he's fine again

AWH!

Didja hear that, Viking? He's getting ready to meat you. :D

[Viking]

'Meat' me. Very funny. :D

[Ally_Kat]

Viking, I bet if we were to take a trip to Germany, not only would I hit on every cute guy there, I bet you'd fall in love with lil Knut.

[Viking]

Uh-huh. One evening two years ago, I stepped out on the porch of my mom's house in the Maryland mountains, just to have a post-dinner smoke, and one of those friggin' bruins appeared out of the treeline and bellowed at me from the edge of the yard, like I was the one on his turf. And my gun was in my cedar chest. At the foot of my bed. In Alabama. And that was only a mangy little black bear of the type that's been raiding garbage cans and killing family pets in the area. Those sea bears get over half a ton, stand ten feet tall, and have a decidedly pissy attitude. You go play coochie-coochie with him. I'll say hello with a .50 cal smokepole. :D

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by Viking
Uh-huh. One evening two years ago, I stepped out on the porch of my mom's house in the Maryland mountains, just to have a post-dinner smoke, and one of those friggin' bruins appeared out of the treeline and bellowed at me from the edge of the yard, like I was the one on his turf. And my gun was in my cedar chest. At the foot of my bed. In Alabama. And that was only a mangy little black bear of the type that's been raiding garbage cans and killing family pets in the area. Those sea bears get over half a ton, stand ten feet tall, and have a decidedly pissy attitude. You go play coochie-coochie with him. I'll say hello with a .50 cal smokepole. :D

I don't want to cuddle with the lil wilderness black bear in Maryland. I want to cuddle with the people-friendly baby Knut. :D

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
I don't want to cuddle with the lil wilderness black bear in Maryland. I want to cuddle with the people-friendly baby Knut. :D

take a plane and come over... ;)

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by Viking
Those sea bears get over half a ton, stand ten feet tall, and have a decidedly pissy attitude. You go play coochie-coochie with him. I'll say hello with a .50 cal smokepole. :D

:lol:

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by DavidLeeNatra
take a plane and come over... ;)

I just might!

:hula:

one day, anyway...hopefully :(

[SparkieD]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
:(

http://xee.xanga.com/2f2c0ae636034117953867/w81387582.jpg

Feel better, cutie-pie! He is a cutie-pie. Wish I could rub his fuzzy lil tummy.

[smithcreww]

my knuts hurt once, peniciillin fixed them right up!!

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
I just might!

:hula:

one day, anyway...hopefully :(

you don't need to pay for a hotel ;)

[Ally_Kat]

Originally posted by DavidLeeNatra
you don't need to pay for a hotel ;)

haha! I'm so there :D

[Ally_Kat]

Viking, was this you? :(


Berlin's polar bear cub Knut receives death threat
Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:31 AM ET



By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's celebrity polar bear cub Knut has received an anonymous death threat, causing alarm at Berlin Zoo on Thursday and prompting heightened security.

Top-selling Bild newspaper said the zoo had received a hand-written fax from a suspected animal hater with the words: "Knut is dead! Thursday midday."

But that deadline came and went safely for media star Knut, who has been on newspaper front pages around Germany and the world for weeks. "He is safe and in good spirits," said zoo official Ragnar Kuehne after the time had passed.

Berlin police said they had investigated a letter containing a threat but did not believe it was serious.

Berlin Zoo's business manager Gerald Uhlich said: "They told us prominent figures often have things like this happen but in this instance we need not be too worried."

Nonetheless, Bild said the zoo had trebled the number of minders responsible for Knut's safety to 15.

"Death threat, police protection for Knut!" Bild wrote in bold letters on page one above a picture of the sad-looking polar bear cub peering out from behind a tree branch.

As Knut appeared for one of his public appearance on Thursday, about twelve minders in orange jackets and carrying walkie-talkies patrolled the area around his enclosure to keep a close eye on the cub and the crowd of fans.

Just an hour before the death threat expired, an unperturbed Knut rolled around on the ground with his bearded keeper Thomas Doerflein and, as usual, chewed his fingers.

Knut, who now has his own brand, won global attention after questions were raised about hand-rearing polar bears. Some animal rights campaigners were interpreted as calling for him to be put down rather than raised by humans.

Doerflein has slept in Knut's cage, played with him and fed him porridge since the cub's mother rejected him at birth.

The zoo has already received about six serious offers to give Knut a home when he is older, the latest from a Norwegian zoo north of the Arctic Circle.

"We are the northernmost zoo in the world so we thought, why not take the initiative to get him up here," said Sigbjoern Soerensen, managing director of the Polar Zoo in Bardu, Norway.

Soerensen, who sent his proposal to Berlin in a letter, said the Polar Zoo had ideal conditions for Knut, with deep snow in winter and temperatures sometimes diving to -30 degrees Celsius and summer temperatures typically a cool 10-15 degrees.

Kuehne said Berlin Zoo would only consider whether to send Knut abroad in a year or so when he is old enough to breed.

(Additional reporting by John Acher in Oslo)

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by Ally_Kat
haha! I'm so there :D

I was serious about that ;)