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Friday, December 05, 2008

Norma Desmond would sympathize
Posted by Jill | 5:28 AM
Ah, the plight of yesterday's hot ticket.

Those who are longtime readers know that I have a weakness for Teh Cute, and for a while, nothing was cuter than Knut, the polar bear cub rejected by its mother at the Berlin Zoo and raised by one of his human handlers. Well, like many child stars not named "Neil Patrick Harris", Knut hasn't had a very graceful transition to adult stardom, though he still has his regular fans. But there isn't enough room to keep Knut at home, with his father, Lars, being the Big Kahuna at the Berlin Zoo, so like the other unemployed, Knut has to find another home:
Knut lives in a small section of the current enclosure, home to Knut's parents, Tosca and Lars, and two older females. Bear keeper Heiner Kloes said Knut, who will reach sexual maturity around the age of six, urgently needs enough space for him and a fertile mate.

The zoo's two eligible female bears will be too old to have cubs by the time Knut is ready to reproduce. Scientists estimate that there are between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the species is listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Canada and Russia have listed polar bears as a species of concern, citing shrinking habitats.

"The survival of the species is more important than any individual," Kloes said. "I won't hang on to Knut if it means keeping him with an old lady," Kloes said, noting the zoo is already filled with enclosures for other animals.


There's a certaiin tone of Schadenfreude in the news coverage of the fact that there's no room for the former child star who so richly fattened the coffers of the zoo -- as if Knut somehow bears the blame for having the temerity to become an adult polar bear (which is far as I'm concerned does not mean he isn't cute). But with Knut having almost singlehandedly focused attention on the plight of polar bears, he deserves a bit more respect.

UPDATE: As if Knut being laughed at for having the temerity to grow up wasn't bad enough, Mona in the comments alluded to this. How the hell did I miss this? So sad....

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Blogger mona said...
He's still "cute" to me also. Did you know they aren't even going to celebrate his second birthday this year. Last year they made him a big veggie cake and for his second b-day, nothing. I wrote them a letter saying shame on you for not appreciating the fact that Knut did fill your coffers. Maybe if his handler/surrogate father hadn't died, he'd get more respect. Very sad.
12/5/08, 12:28 PM  
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