RIP Knut

I woke up this morning to some very sad news.  My beloved polar bear, Knut had tragically passed away :(  He was only four years old and very young for his species which can otherwise survive up to 30 years in captivity.

I'm glad that I managed to visit him back in 2007 shortly after the initial Knut-mania.  By then, he had definitely grown out of his puppy-like phase but he was still Knut and I was still happy to see him.  I'm not going to delve into it, but his life was not without controversy.

Knut had recently been put in an enclosure with a few other bears (including his mother who had rejected him) and he was supposedly subject to bullying.  Witnesses who saw the moment Knut collapse report saying it looked like he was having a seizure.  I'm not going to post up the footage, but you can view it here.  It is pretty traumatic to watch :(  Theories are rife that his seizure may have been stress-induced :(  I felt even more sad after reading this German paper's obituary.  :```(

RIP Knut.  I hope you meet your keeper in the Berlin Zoo of the afterlife.  

[Note - It has now been confirmed that Knut died from epilepsy which correlates with the apparent seizure witnessed.]