Knut Berlin’s beloved Polar Bear who rose to stardom as an icon to fight global warming is dead. Born December 2006 and raised in captivity at the Berlin Zoological Garden he was the first polar bear cub to survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in more than thirty years. He collapsed in his pen, the Zoo aims to carry out an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
The polar bear was the logo for the German Environment Minister’s campaign to spot Global Warming and a 2008 special issue stamp with the slogan: “Natur weltweit bewahren” (“Preserve nature worldwide”). He was featured alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Vanity Fair’s 2007 Green Issue.
Hard to watch: Visitor films Knut’s last minutes: