World-famous Knut ill
2007-04-16 15:38
Berlin - 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 on Monday after just 30 minutes.
The zoo's veterinarian, André Schuele, put the four-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," said Schuele.
"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.
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 December 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.
On the net:
Berlin Zoo
- AP