Famous Polar Bears - Knut, Flocke, Inuka, Binky, Wilbr, Debby (Paperback)

Chapters: Knut, Flocke, Inuka, Binky, Wilbr, Debby. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 37. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Knut (German pronunciation: ) (born 5 December 2006) is a polar bear who was born in captivity at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin. Rejected by his mother at birth, he was subsequently raised by zookeepers. He was the first polar bear cub to survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in more than thirty years. At one time the subject of international controversy, he became a popular tourist attraction and commercial success. After the German tabloid newspaper Bild ran a quote from an animal rights activist that seemingly called for the death of the young cub, a worldwide public outrage was caused as fans rallied in support of his being hand-raised by humans. Children protested outside the zoo, and many e-mails and letters expressing sympathy for the cub's life were sent from around the world. Knut became the center of a mass media phenomenon dubbed "Knutmania" that spanned the globe and quickly spawned numerous toys, media specials, DVDs, and books. Because of this, the cub was largely responsible for a significant increase in revenue, estimated at about five million euros, at the Berlin Zoo in 2007. Zoo attendance figures for the year increased by an estimated 30 percent, making it the most profitable year in its 163-year history. Thomas Drflein plays with Knut on 31 May 2007.Knut was born at the Berlin Zoo to 20-year-old Tosca, a former circus performer from East Germany who was born in Canada, and her 13-year-old mate Lars, who was originally from the Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich. After an uncomplicated gestation, Knut and his unnamed brother were born on 5 December 2006. Tosca rejected her cubs for unknown reasons, abandoning them on a rock in the polar bear ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=19541336