Sad News from Germany

The Guardian newspaper reports that Knut, the cute polar bear in the Berlin Zoo, has died unexpectedly at the age of four. No cause has yet been announced. Could it possibly have something to do with the fact that a polar bear belongs in the Arctic Circle rather than the capital city of Germany?

Do you remember Gus, the polar bear in Central Park (yes, the one in the Tragically Hip song)? He became news in the early 1990's when he began swimming in circles. The zoo hired an animal shrink to examine Gus's neurotic behaviour, and it was decided that he was bored and depressed. They gave him a bucket as a new toy to play with, and he swam in circles again, pushing the bucket before him as he swam.

It may be cool for us to stop off and see a polar bear on the way home from work or the shops. Not so cool for the bears. Gus is still a big attraction in Central Park. Poor Knut is dead. Save the Polar Bears!

PS Latest news from Berlin - they want to stuff Knut for posterity. Noooooooooooooooo!
Read it here.

knut is so yesterday

meet flocke, the latest polar bear cub to wow germans and their visitors. the nuremberg zoo recently unveiled this cutie, along with a mass of chatchke souvenirs available immediately to the public. flocke is adorable, but some people are not so happy about her debut:

as the signs say, 'i'm a polar bear, get me out of here!' and, 'if only you would see it from my point of view - the climate here does not suit me!"

when knut grew out of being cute, through no fault of his own, he became too big and dangerous to play with. he is now rather lonely, and possibly in withdrawal from an addiction to the attention of fame. what will become of flocke in the future?

link to grauniad video and story about flocke and her future

baton-twirling bear

bears can get bored when they spend all their lives in the zoo. remember gus, the polar bear in nyc? he swam in manic circles until the zookeepers gave him a bucket to play with, and then he swam in circles pushing the bucket. now we are hearing about claude, a black bear who twirls sticks obsessively. i guess it is better than being hunted for your gall bladder :-(

ahhhhh, bless

a pleasant image to bear in mind before i go to sleep.

knut was cute

just a few months ago, knut the polar bear cub, rejected by his mother and hand-reared by a keeper at the berlin zoo, well, he ruled germany.

now knut is six months old and getting a bit long in the tooth. soon he will just be a regular ole polar bear, and the zoo will have to decide what to do with him. ah me, the ongoing saga of life after being a child star. rest peacefully dear knut.