Knut may get playmates soon

2007-11-23 20:03

Berlin - Knut, the Berlin Zoo's famous polar bear, may soon have as many as three little siblings to play with, the zoo's veterinarian said on Friday.

Knut's mother, Tosca, and the zoo's two other female polar bears, Katjuscha and Nancy, may all be pregnant after mating earlier this year with Knut's father, Lars, veterinarian Andre Schuele said.

They could give birth before Christmas, he said.

But polar bear pregnancies are hard to detect and to track. Urine pregnancy tests like those humans use do not work, and polar bear embryos are so small the mothers do not grow big tummies.

"One can't say for sure if they are really pregnant or not," Schuele said.

The zoo is hopeful enough, however, to have built three special caves for the female polar bears to use to give birth.

Knut, who celebrates his first birthday on December 5, was rejected by his mother after birth and hand-raised by zookeepers. So potent was his appeal as a cute cub that zoo attendance went up by 20% since his first public debut in March, officials said. He has his own blog and TV show and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, not to mention scores of German newspapers and other publications.

Now weighing more than 100kg, the boisterous bear no longer plays with his keeper Thomas Doerflein and has an enclosure all to himself.

- AP