Star Polar Bear in Berlin is Getting Too Big to Perform

Welcome to my 250th entry........

I usually post political postings or entries regarding the latest happenings in cinema, theatre or music. And, many of my posts often reference events or issues involving Virginia, North Carolina or Turkey_ my late father Mehmet Gokbudak's native country.

But, today, I thought I would do something a little different and focus on Knut, the star polar bear at the Berlin Zoo in Germany.

According to the BBC, Knut (born on Dec. 5, 2006), has grown too big to perform with zookeeper Thomas Doerflein.

The adorable 110-pound cub was performing twice a day with Doerflein. Knut has also become the star attraction at the zoo, but not without some controversy.

The German media reported that animal rights acitvist Frank Albrecht had said that Knut should have been killed, instead of being handled by humans. After the publicity, Albrecht said that he has been misquoted.

Knut was born to a 20-year-old East German performing bear. Alas, the polar bear's twin brother died due after being exposed to freezing conditions at another zoo in Germany. Knut also recieved death threats in April, which lead the Berlin Zoo to beef up security though no intruders ever threatened to harm Knut.

The cub was performing twice daily with Doerflein. He will still be residing at the zoo, and Doerflein, who complained about getting burned out from the performances, said he will still be close to his beloved pal, Knut::

"I am always there for him. Knut is still a child," Doerflein told the BBC. "He needs me."

To read more about and see amazing pictures of this polar bear cub, you can check out the following links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice

http://www.zoo_berlin.de/en.html