SakshiFake News
The fame comes with its share of rumors! That is what happened with Knut. Many false stories did rounds about Knut. For instance, the rumor had it that Knut suffered from some severe illness and was medicated with antibiotics when Knut stopped showing up in the zoo. However, the reality was that he had a teething pain due to the growth of his right upper canine tooth. On 18 April 2007, another rumor bred when the zoo got a letter that read “Knut ist tot! Donnerstag Mittag.” (“Knut is dead! Thursday noon.”). After that anonymous letter, the security of the zoo was tightened with more police. But that letter proved to be a hoax as nothing wrong happened with Knut.
Formation Of Threats
Knut used to give appearance twice in the zoo. When Knut got seven months old and reached the weight of 50 kg (110 lb) in July 2007, the zoo canceled his twice a day public appearance. The zoo also contemplated on disassociating the growing bear from his keeper. Evidently, the bear was growing and his large body could prove harmful to the humans closely dealing with him. Regine Damm, zoo spokeswomen also stressed upon the requirement of the bear to mix up with his ilk. She said the bear needed to “associate with other bears and not with other people.” Knut was moved to an enclosure in which a Malaysian black bear cub Ernst and its mother were living. Later on, he was given his own private place to live.
Leaving Each Other Forever
In 2007, the beautiful world of both Knut and his keeper Dörflein met an ugly turn when the Berlin Zoo director Bernhard Blaskiewitz told Dörflein not to meet Knut anymore. It meant he would no longer be able to look after the bear. He was asked to break the bond that had been built over the year. Initially, the keeper spoke against the order and continued to meet Knut but after some time he himself thought of severing all contact with Knut. He said, “Some day soon, Knut and I will have to split up.” Needless to say, it was really going to be difficult for Dörflein to live without Knut as he had abandoned his family only to stay with the bear.
Knutmania!
It was an irony that the bear who had been abandoned by his mother to die was having his birthday celebrated all across the nation. In December 2007, Knut became one year old. His birthday was celebrated with a big cake made of boiled rice, raisins and bananas. The cake was decorated with a wooden candle and there were a number of his fans from all over the world who clapped and sang the birthday song for him. On the day the visitors gifted a big birthday cake too that was made of 30lbs of sugar and flour and 300 eggs. His keeper had also decided on his to gift Knut. He explained, “My birthday wish for Knut is that he is happily transferred to another zoo – in a big compound with a female partner.”
Harmful Attention
Too much attention of people was harming Knut. Markus Röbke the zoo worker who helped his keeper raise Knut suggested that the bear should leave the zoo as he was getting addicted to human’s contact. According to Röbke, Knut was missing his father very much. He wanted humans to be around him all the time and even he used to cry whenever he found himself away from humans presence. Röbke warned, “Knut needs an audience, that has to change.” Whereas the zoo was busy dealing with Knut’s problem of attention, in the meanwhile one more news came that made the entire zoo grief-stricken.
The Abrupt End
The entire nation immersed in sorrow in September 2008 when the news regarding the death of Knut’s keeper came out. Dörflein was found dead at his friend’s apartment. The death was sudden. According to reports the cause of death could have been either heart attack or cancer. At the time of death, the keeper was only 44 years old. Berlin’s BZ (Berlin Zoo) newspaper stated, “Everyone wanted to be like Thomas Dörflein, he not only cared for Knut; he nurtured our desire to see harmony between man and beast.” On the other hand, Klaus Wowereit the then mayor of Berlin called the demise of Dörflein a “great loss.” He had been working in the zoo for 26 years.