Knut's Girlfriend Gianna Moves Into His Berlin Digs
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- Gianna enjoys the moat and checks out the scene in Knut's enclosure.
- (© dpa - Bildfunk)
Berlin-based celebrity polar bear Knut, whose über-cute antics as a cub charmed millions and reminded the world of the threat posed by climate change to his equally adorable wild brethren, has a new best buddy named Gianna.
This young female polar bear was recently moved from her previous home in Munich's Tierpark Hellabrunn to the Berlin Zoo, where she was installed in Knut's enclosure and seems to be settling in just fine with Knut already taking a shine to her.
"She's now on display in Berlin and ready for her love connection," the animal-centric website petsugar.com reported on September 23. "The 2-year-old gal will explore the enclosure of the world-famous bear, but they will not meet face-to-face until special measures are implemented."
Because Knut has always lived alone and is not used to being with other animals, a newly installed "canoodling fence" will initially separate them, "and if the sparks are there then they will join forces in one spot," petsugar.com added.
Knut Mania
Knut, who celebrates his third birthday in December 2009, shot to international fame as a frisky furball who was hand-reared after his mother had rejected him by his late keeper, Thomas Dörflein, before the admiring eyes of adoring fans across the globe.
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- Knut playing with the keeper who raised him, Thomas Dörflein, at the Berlin Zoo in July 2007.
- (© dpa - Bildfunk)
As Knut mania engulfed the world, the Berlin Zoo logged record attendance numbers when people lined up to see the ruggedly handsome Dörflein play with the little bear in what the German media dubbed the daily "Knut Show".
In 2007 the zoo logged more than three million visitors for the first time in its 164-year-history, an increase of some 27 percent over 2006, according to Spiegel Online. And it made a pretty profit on Knut-based merchandise, to the tune of nearly 7 million euros.
Knut the Cute also served as a model for the renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz and graced the cover of "Vanity Fair" magazine's May 2007 "Green Issue" with Hollywood superstar and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, whose Mom Irmelin hails from Germany.
Knut and Dörflein even starred together in a feature-length family film chronicling the challenges faced by wild bear families called "Knut und Seine Freunde" (Knut and His Friends).
Zoogoers have since been entranced by still more polar bear cubs growing up in other German zoos, notably Flocke (Snowflake) in Nuremberg and Wilbär in Stuttgart.
Mourning Knut's Dad
Yet while many fans of the Berlin-based bear have reportedly rejoiced at the prospect of Knut and Gianna learning to love each other, her arrival also marked a time tinged with sadness.
Just as Gianna was installed at the Berlin Zoo, several visitors placed cards and flowers there in memory of Thomas Dörflein, a strapping, hard-working man who died suddenly of a heart attack in September 2008 at the age of 44, leaving behind two adult children, a young son - and Knut, who reportedly also missed his "father" and cried out for him after his disappearance.
Hence there are high hopes all round that Knut and Gianna will click, and perhaps even help zoos around the world perpetuate the survival of a beloved species seriously threatened in the wild - though any thought of more über-cute polar bear offspring at the Berlin Zoo would need to be put on ice until both animals reach sexual maturity.
Related Links:
Berlin Zoo - Knut the Polar Bear
The German National Tourist Office - Zoos in Germany
Knut und Seine Freunde (Knut and His Friends, a movie inspired by Knut's life)
