Polar Bear Cub Delights Fans In His Debut

(CBS/AP)  Television crews and photographers jockeyed with hundreds of excited children at Berlin's Zoo on Friday, all eager to for a first glimpse of a fuzzy white polar bear cub who has captured hearts across the globe.

"We want Knut! We want Knut" chanted a group of third graders who pressed against the railing surrounding what is normally the brown bears' area, cleared for use by the polar cub because of its prominent position at the zoo.

At 15 weeks, and just over 20 pounds, the little cub is considered sturdy enough to begin to get used to the limelight, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar.

But the big world is a scary place, even when seen from the safety of a bear enclosure, and Knut never strayed far from the keeper who has raised him since birth.

Sniffing and stumbling over the uneven, grassy ground, Knut delighted the crowds by clambering over a log and sniffing curiously at the legs of his handler, Thomas Doerflein.

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Photos: Knut The Polar Bear

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"I'm so happy to be able to see him today," said Leila Klamann, 9, whose school class was visiting the zoo. "And he's so cute!"

The cub, born to the zoo on December 5, has already captured the hearts of Berliners through his own video podcast and TV series. Star photographer Annie Leibovitz also came to take his portrait for an environmental campaign.

Poking his nose and then his paws into a stream, the cub appeared interested in exploring his new environment Friday, but returned frequently to Doerflein, who has raised him by hand since his mother rejected him and his brother shortly after their birth. The other cub later died. Baby polar bears are very prone to infections.

The fate of the nearly 19-pound bear stirred a media flap when an animal activist insisted that the cub would have been better off dead than raised by humans; that as a wild animal, he was becoming too much of a pet. The zoo flatly rejected the idea.

"It is nonsense, and a violation of animal rights," zoo veterinarian Andreas Ochs told CBS News.

And animal rights groups, realizing they were on the losing side of a public relations battle, quickly endorsed the bear.

"Of course we should celebrate," said spokeswoman Eva-Marie Koenig. "Every bear that can be saved is ... good news."

Knut has thrived on a bottle fed diet of baby formula and cod liver oil, the first polar bear born in the Berlin zoo to live in more than30 years.

He'll stay in Berlin for another year or so, reports MacVicar, never mixing with the other polar bears there. They have rejected him once. To try to reacquaint them again would risk not just rejection, but death.

His future probably lies in another zoo, perhaps with another group of bears.

Meanwhile, the general public will be able to see Knut again over the weekend. He is scheduled to make brief appearances with his handler.

[noaanhc]

At least this polar bear is in a safe place for the rest of his life.We all should be concerned about the plight of the polar bears in the wild who are becoming threatened by global warming. The ice flows they use in the arctic to go out on to catch seals,their main source of food are disappearing and causing many bears to go hungry and in some cases starve to death or risk being shot and killed when they venture into a town looking for food because they are so hungry.
I feel sorry for them for they don't understand what is happening to their environment.We are ruining this planet & if we don't change then
we humans will one day be a threatened species.

Why does everyone keep going on about this cub being robbed of it's chance to live in the wild? When has any zoo-born animal been returned to the wild after being born in captivity? This is a zoo that saved it's life, not a wildlife sanctuary.

So the general consensus is that death is preferrable to life in a zoo with a human handler instead of life in a zoo with a polar bear parent. Y'all are nuts.

[Free Citizen]

RandalDS, all infants are cute. Regardless whether they are bear or human. Being cute is more often a disadvantage than an advantage to that infant or cub. In the hands of stupid humans, they tend to get spoilt and will have to learn the hard way on how to be independent. In the case of the cub, it will be a pet, it will never have the chance to learn to be independent. Humans have robbed its instinct of what makes it a bear, a hunter. It would have no chance of survival in the wild. What you have is a pet animal not a real polar bear.

[randalds]

Libs are nuts. Kill the bear because human savedit, and are now raising it? Show me the logic please!
Posted by jdweymouth at 12:22 PM : Mar 23, 2007

The whacked out PETA types are NOT liberals. We want nothing to do with those fascist terrorists want to be's.

As for the bear all I can say is Dam*n he's cute! I'm about as cynical as a person can get and I think all bear cubs are cute, but that is the most adorable bear cub I've ever seen!

[Free Citizen]

The comments posted here are unbelievable. This proves that humans in general are not rational beings. Cute? I suppose everybody is going to spoil this cub rotten. Of course nobody minds because everybody thinks the zoo can care for it until it dies of old age. But what kind of animal right is that? If I were that cub and if I knew better, I would want to be free in my own natural habitat (an environment that is shrinking because of human activity). You can come and see me if you like, in the wild where I roam free. Not behind a wall or iron bars, it is demeaning and an insult to my dignity. Did it occur to you why my mother rejected both me and my brother? You don't understand enough to help us do you? Well, I suppose you are going to spoil me till old age in this zoo of yours where I'll probably die of heart disease due to lack of exercise. Thank you for this lousy life.

[michellem99-2009]

My friend saw this on TV. I read the story on the wwb. The bear is so cute. I am happy the he is being care for at the zoo.

[sclaires]

I have been following Knut ever since I first heard of and saw pictures of him from Spiegel (Germany). In as much as polar bears are an endangered species, then let's keep Knut growing. At least there was a human who was willing to give up his normal life to move in with and tend to Knut from the time he was born and abandoned by his mother. After all, raising a polar bear cub is as hard as raising a human infant. Both require special care and feeding. Right now Knut is a cuddley bundle of fur but as he gets older, he will turn more into a normal polar bear. I say to the Berlin Zoo, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

[cmp271]

I am sure his trainer is so very attached to him too. I hope these days keep going on. You can see the love on his face, what an incrdible man. Any more like that over there? Send them here!!!

[extremophil]

Let the little guy grow up big and strong......That way we can ALL have a polar bear sandwich!

[ajaxrose1]

Some animal rights group! I saw this report this morning and was stunned to hear they were pestering the zoo to euthanize this beautiful animal! It's nice to back track on that opinion, but it's out there and probably won't ever go away. Shame on you guys! Thank God, who truly does bless the beasts and children who have NO choice. He put sweet, little Knut in the care and protection of the right people. Bless your hearts!