Posted on 03/22/2011 12:25:46 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Berlin - Germany's best-loved animal star, the polar bear Knut, died of brain disease, the Berlin zoo where he was born and raised announced on Tuesday.
Knut, who became a global media sensation, died unexpectedly on Saturday, aged four. He keeled over and fell into the water in his enclosure in front of horrified zoo visitors.
The zoo identified the cause of death after carrying out an autopsy on Monday.
Knut had been a constant attraction after he was rejected by his mother at birth and hand-raised by zoo keepers.
Environmental campaigners had blamed his death on the conditions of captivity at the zoo.
“Knut died of brain disease.”
***Shame, I didn’t know he was a liberal.***
Yep. Another victim of glo-bull warming heat stroke!
The natives there were used to seeing it and called it the ‘turning sickness’.
Some sort of...wait for it...Bi-POLAR disorder? *rimshot*
Mad Cow disease?
Durn your hide, you beat me to it!
There's no evidence to support that. An interesting theory nonetheless.
Wild animals kept in captivity can be good educators for children and society. The problem starts when people start to speak with authority on the reasons for population changes of certain species - much like some have done regarding polar bears.
Or some other mechanism we don't understand. If we could figure it out it might lead to tech that would allow for non-invasive diagnosis. Kinda like Doc McCoy's ...uhhh...tricorder?
I read about that too — in a Wilbur Smith novel.
He was a liberal?
How sad!
Yes, viewed and was very sad. I hope that parents would take the opportunity to educate their children that all animals are subject to disease and some may die suddenly. It's nature.
Checked nestboxes this weekend and found the same female Eastern Screech Owl that's been in the box the last two years. Also found feathers of Eastern Bluebirds, Slate Colored Juncos, etc in the next box. Nature is beautiful - but stark in terms of survival.
Watched the video... sad seeing him go down like that.
Without a doubt his mom knew. I’ve witness his several times with cats. If there’s something wrong with the baby, they abandon it. The abandoned kittens are a good example- one was deaf and another one died kidney failure at age 2. Both were moved several times by mama kitty. She knew.
It makes sense actually. You wonder if it is something that simple, how the zoo vets could miss the diagnosis.
I don’t think it would take the parasite 4 years to destroy the brain.
I wonder if that’s why a couple years ago they said he had some kind of psychological or adjustment disorder at the time?
One of my dogs (Aladdin) has Canine Epilepsy. He has had attacks since he was about 2 yrs old he is eight now. He has been on meds all this time. If you have not been around a big dog (125 lbs) having an seizure it can be very frightening. They can come at any time day or night and he is completely helpless during the attack and very disoriented for an hour or so after wards.
Dunno! Maybe that is why the other bears chased him away.
He wasn’t. He had a brain.
This is why you keep Charlie Sheen away from the zoo.
showing all the signs of a stroke...
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