Knut growing into beast
2007-06-01 14:36
Berlin - Knut, Berlin Zoo's celebrity
polar bear cub, is growing from a cuddly ball of fur into a
shaggy, powerful predator who could soon pose a serious threat
to his devoted human keeper who has nursed him from birth.
The cub, which still draws some 5 000 fans every day, turns
six months on Tuesday and his 28kg are starting to
show. His snout is longer, his torso chunkier and teeth sharper.
Thomas Doerflein, who for months slept in Knut's enclosure
to feed him milk and porridge through the night, still rolls on
the ground with the cub in his twice daily shows and lets him
bite his fingers.
But he has taken to pulling his long sleeves over his hands
to protect them and winces when the cub bites him on the bottom.
Captivated admirers watch Doerflein duck and shoulder away Knut
when he gets boisterous.
"He's just playing and it doesn't hurt, it just pinches a
bit. It only hurts when he gets angry," the bearded Doerflein,
who already has a few bruises, told Reuters.
In addition to porridge, the young star now tucks into fish,
meat and cat food and is putting on around 200g a day.
Last week, he learned how to swim and Doerflein takes Knut
for a walk round the Zoo every morning to build up his muscles.
His coat is no longer white and fluffy, but yellow and shaggy.
"He is getting bigger and is gruffer than he used to be and
is learning his role as a loner," said zoo vet Andre Schuele,
who estimates that Knut will not be fully grown for another four
years or so.
Dangerous?
Knut was rejected by his mother, Tosca, and hit the
headlines after an animal rights campaigner said hand-rearing
polar bears violated animal rights. German media interpreted the
comments as a call for Knut to be put down.
Since then, Knut has become a brand. He has his own song,
DVD and book deal and features in a range of merchandise from
soft toys and T-shirts to sweets.
Doerflein thinks he will be able to play with Knut until he
is about a year-old, by which time the cub will be 60-80kg,
compared to about 500kg when he is fully grown.
The keepers say the cub regards Doerflein as his mother and
is therefore unlikely to attack him, but some experts fear he
could get dangerous sooner and point to worrying precedents.
In the 1920s, a Norwegian explorer had to put down "Marie",
a polar bear cub he had reared, after she attacked him.
Historians put the cub's age at only four months, although some
experts suspect she might have been older.
The zoo also rejects comparisons with Bokito, a gorilla
raised in Berlin who burst out of his enclosure in Rotterdam Zoo
last month and went on a rampage.
"You can't compare them: gorillas are social animals, polar
bears are loners," said Schuele. "I have no worries that Knut
will be a problem like that."
But the Zoo realises the Knut show will not go on forever.
"Knut is getting too big for this and we will probably bring
the shows to an end in two or three months," said Raimund Opitz,
who gives visitors a running commentary.
The Zoo will consider moving Knut elsewhere after he is a
year old. Several other zoos are keen to take on Knut to breed.