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Tags: Do Not Do / Animals / Zoos / Berlin Zoo / Knut / Dangerous Travel / → All Tags

Polar Bears Attack Woman Seeking Knut in Berlin Zoo

While we often joke here at Jaunted headquarters about appeasing the animal overlords that will one day rule the earth, there is nothing funny about a woman who hopped a fence on Friday at the polar bear habitat at the Berlin Zoo and was promptly mauled by three bears who share the space with former child star, Knut.

The unidentified woman took great effort to get into the habitat, scaling a fence, a line of hedges and a wall before diving into the bears' pool. She appeared to be laughing and happy as she splashed in the water toward one of the big bears, [Daily Mail of London] said.

The woman survived, suffering bite marks on her legs, arms and buttocks. She is currently being hospitalized and there is no word if the woman, believed to be mentally ill, will face any criminal charges. Knut, in case you are wondering, did not participate in the attack on the woman.

Related Stories:
· Polar Bear Nightmare [NY Post]
· Zookeepers rescue woman from polar bear mauling [Times UK]
· Berlin Zoo [Official Site]

[Photo via NY Post]

Tags: Mr. Lonely / Knut / When Animals Attack / → All Tags

What A Relief: Knut Loves Beef More Than People

Berlin's zoo keepers may not be up for planning him a birthday party, but they will keep Knut from devouring anyone who jumps into his polar bear pen.

Knut had just been led into his outdoor enclosure by zoo keepers when a 37-year-old German leapt over a fence into a water-filled ditch to get a closer look. Before the polar bear could chomp his face off, workers whipped out a leg of beef and lured Knut back into his cage. (Zoos apparently have legs of beef just lying around!)

Why did the zoo-goer think a 440-pound bear would want to snuggle?

Police said that, before being let go, the man told them that he felt lonely and the bear appeared lonely, too.

Related Stories:
· Lonely Man Jumps Into Polar Bear's Cage [NYT]
· Berlin To Bear: Plan Your Own Birthday Party [Jaunted]
· Polar Bears With Personality Disorders [Jaunted]

[Photo of Knut in kinder days: Scoobay]

Tags: Knut / Animals / Zoos / Germany Travel / → All Tags

Berlin To Bear: Plan Your Own Birthday Party

The self-obsessed polar bear that put the Berlin Zoo on the map will turn two Friday, but Knut's handlers say they won't be celebrating with a party. Even worse: They may ship the superstar to another zoo as soon as 2009, leaving Berliners only one outrageously adorable ursine amigo.

After helping rake in more than $6 million in profit in 2007, the least the zoo could do is throw a little party for Knut, says one of his fans, a 60-year-old who visits him every weekend and has started a petition to keep the bear in Berlin:

It's unbelievable that they're not throwing a party for Knut. More than 100 people are coming from all over Europe and even the US just to see this bear who has done so much for Berlin.

I think many people would even be prepared to donate money. He's come to symbolize the city just like the Brandenburg Gate does.

But maybe the bear is ready for a trip to LA to work out a movie deal with his agents?

Related Stories:
· Berlin Zoo Under Fire for Ignoring Knut [Spiegel, via]
· Polar Bears With Personality Disorders [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sacred Destinations]

Tags: Knut / Flocke / Animals / Zoos / Germany Travel / → All Tags

Knut Was Cute But Flocke Is... Even Cuter

We're trying to ween ourselves off cute-polar-bears-in-German-zoos stories but... they're just so damned cute. We get it that the Berlin Zoo's poor Knut now has a personality disorder but we just can't stop!

Flocke, which means snowflake, is the new Knut. She's the new star of the Nuremberg Zoo in southeastern Germany and like Knut, she's been hand-reared by zoo-keepers. (Apparently her mother tried to drop her down some stone stairs.)

Given that the Berlin Zoo admits to earning nearly $8 million from Knut last year, the Nuremberg Zoo will be looking for people like us to fork out for Flocke merchandise and extra zoo visits, too. Will we give in to temptation? We're hoping to stop at some gratuitously cute pictures.

Related Stories:
· Move Over Knut [Reuters]
· Polar Bears With Personality Disorders [Jaunted]

[Photo: indio]

Tags: Knut / Animals / Zoos / Germany Travel / → All Tags

Polar Bears With Personality Disorders

It won't take you long to think of a few celebrities who've had trouble dealing with fame. Apparently, the same problems can occur in the world of polar bears. And that's why the biggest tourist magnet ever at the Berlin Zoo, abandoned polar bear Knut, might be taken out of the limelight soon.

Turns out that Knut has gotten so addicted to the adoration of the public that he can't survive without it. For example, the zoo closed for a day recently due to bad weather, and he howled and screamed the hours away until his fans returned. If there are no people near him, Knut becomes distressed and angry.

Some of the staff at the Berlin Zoo are considering sending Knut to a smaller animal park where he gets less attention, but presumably the attention would follow him. Unless he gets smuggled anonymously. If you find a cute (but slightly psycho) polar bear in your backyard soon, let us know.

Related Stories:
· Polar Bear Knut Addicted to Fame [news.com.au]
· Polar Bear Travel: Knut The Movie [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sacred Destinations]

Tags: Knut / Animals / Zoos / Germany Travel / → All Tags

Penguin and Polar Bear Problems

If you're a cute, black-and-white animal living in Stuttgart's beautiful Wilhelma Zoo, you've been in the headlines recently. That's the conclusion we've drawn from the series of stories emerging from southern Germany, with the most disturbing news being the abduction of Babe.

Babe, in this case, was not a pig, but a penguin. Poor Babe was bird-napped from her enclosure in broad daylight last Tuesday and hasn't been seen since. As the police astutely pointed out, "There is no black market for penguins in Germany," so everyone's stumped by the penguin theft.

But the zoo is trying to turn its image positive again, finally announcing that a baby polar bear was born there in December. They kept it a secret--trying to avoid a repeat of the Knut drama in the Berlin Zoo--but have now announced that baby Wilbär is happy, healthy and hasn't been abandoned by his mother, although he'll be staying out of the public eye until April. By which time, we hope, poor Babe the penguin has also returned.

We recommend postponing trips to Stuttgart until all the black-and-white cuties are on show again.

Related Stories:
· Stuttgart Zoo Loses a Bird, Gains a Polar Bear [Spiegel]
· Knut the Polar Bear Coverage [Jaunted]
· Crocs Out to Get You in Stuttgart [Jaunted]

[Photo: juliebee]

Tags: Celeb Travel / TomKat / Tom Cruise / Suri Cruise / Knut / → All Tags

Polar Bear Travel: "Knut" The Movie, With A Famous Voice

Remember Knut, the adorable polar bear who captured our hearts as a cub and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair with Leonardo DiCaprio before he got too big to be cute? Get ready for "Happy Knut", the movie! The creators of the live-action "Garfield" are pursuing the rights to Knut's story, with an eye towards having celebrity baby star Suri Cruise--spawn of TomKat--voice the cub Knut.

Suri has already visited Knut while Dad has been in Germany filming "Valkyrie," his WWII biopic about a Nazi renegade. Hey, we've seen "Happy Feet," and this sounds like a lot more fun (and adorable). If and when the film gets made, you can bet we'll have all the movie set travel details.

Related Stories:
· Suri Cruise: Face of an angel, voice of a polar bear?! [ParentDish]
· Knut's Knest Too Big For Two [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: babschi]

Tags: Knut / Animals / Berlin Zoo / → All Tags

Knut's Knest Too Big For Two

Knut the polar bear is a one-man show now: The Berlin Zoo which proudly displayed the orphaned polar bear cub who charmed the world (and made the cover of "Vanity Fair") has announced he will no longer be appearing with his keeper and surrogate father. Thomas Doerflein (that's him, above, back in April) told reporters, "Knut is still a child; he needs me," but the 110-pound bear, rejected by his mum at birth, is just too big for Dad. From now on, he'll only have his big red ball for company.

To see Knut's cousins in the wild, try the polar bear tours in Churchill, Canada, which drive right up to Manitoba-born mammals without fear. In graduating to adulthood, Knut leaves behind those adorable baby pandas as a memory of his cuter times.

[Photo: Associated Press]

Tags: Knut / Zoos / Tourism Boards / Canada / Animals / Adventure Travel / → All Tags

Canada Tourism Exploits Final Days of Knut's Cuteness

As world famous German polar bear cub Knut inches towards adulthood and becomes drastically less cute, what may be a final surge in cross-promotional activities rages on. The latest entity to snag a piece of Knut madness is the Canadian Tourism Commission, which recently sent the little guy a special Canada-branded ball to play with.

As the Brand Canada Blog points out, it's a small hint that Canada (and not Germany--who knew?) is a natural home of polar bears. You can even swim with them at the Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane, Ontario, a good 450 miles north of Toronto.

Related Stories:
· Knut the Polar Bear Cub Becomes Pitch-Man for Canadian Tourism Commission [Brand Canada]
· Giant Pillow Fight in Toronto [Brand Canada]