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Heartbreaking Video: Knut the Polar Bear’s Final Seconds

Mar. 22, 2011 1:47pm Jonathon M. Seidl

The video is as heartbreaking as the story. In it, a polar bear can be seen dazed and confused, twirling in circles just seconds before flopping into a nearby pool, thrashing, and then going still. Those, an amateur video claims, are the final moments in the life of Knut, a four-year-old celebrity polar bear that died Saturday at a Berlin, Germany zoo:

[Warning: Contains images that may be disturbing to some]

Knut’s sudden death on Saturday afternoon has many perplexed and worried, especially considering Polar bears usually live 15 to 20 years in the wild and even longer in captivity. That led animal rights activists to blame Knut’s “short and tortured life” on his captivity.

But animal and Knut lovers may finally be getting some answers, as the results of a necropsy, performed Monday, show brain problems contributed to Knut’s tragic death.

Initial findings by an institute in the German capital showed “significant changes to [Knut's] brain, which can be viewed as a reason for the polar bear’s sudden death,” the zoo said in a statement.

The zoo didn’t elaborate on the changes to the animal’s brain, and officials could not immediately be reached for further comment.

Pathologists found no changes to any other organs, the zoo said, adding that it will take several days to produce a final result. Further planned tests include bacteriological and histological, or tissue, examinations.

The video of Knut’s alleged final moments has sparked a controversy of its own. The website Jezebel originally posted it yesterday, only to scrub it hours later and see its editor-in-chief admit that it was a “mistake” to do so due to the shocking images.

Still, other sites have posted the video, including the New York Daily News, CBSNews.com, and even a Fox affiliate in Philadelphia.

Knut, who was born in December 2006 at the Berlin zoo, rose to celebrity status as an irresistibly cute, fluffy cub. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich even visited him in 2007, posting a picture of the encounter online:

Gingrich lamented Knut’s death on both his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Knut was rejected by his mother at birth — along with his twin brother, who only survived a couple of days. He attracted attention when his main caregiver, Thomas Doerflein, camped out at the zoo to give the button-eyed cub his bottle every two hours.

The bear went on to appear on magazine covers, in a film and on mountains of merchandise.

Doerflein, the zookeeper who raised him, died in 2008 of a heart attack.

The zoo now wants to have Knut stuffed and put on display at Berlin’s Museum of Natural History, the German news agency DAPD reported.

It quoted a zoo spokeswoman as saying that the decision was made because Knut was a much-loved animal and officials wanted to make him available to science.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Comments (130)

N5DVC
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:47pm
Video was scrubbed “due to the shocking images”??
What the hell is wrong with us? Sad, yes of course, but death is part of life.
What’s next, someone decides I have to hold it because of the ‘shocking images’ in the public toilet?
Geez…

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smithclar3nc3
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:38pm
Just be thankful for the time he had with the people of germany and all the smiles he gave to people around the world. If nature had ran it’s course he wouldn’t have had the time he had.

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jedi.kep
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:38pm
My dog died just the same way. Death is a part of life, no matter how sad it may be.

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- smokie
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 4:06pm
  Did they discern your dog had a stroke?
  At first, it looked as if Knut had a boutod Scotty cramp.
  
  Report this comment
- lildeb56
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 4:13pm
  Jedi, I’m so sorry for the loss of your dog.
  
  Report this comment
TJexcite
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:36pm
Did he drowned in the water when he was trashing around? Being dazed and having major problems
taking a mouth full of water is possible. If he did not fall in the water he may have not died right away
and they may have been able to treat him somehow. But if he downed it is hard to say that a brain
defect cause his death more in just a mitigating factor. It looks like a stroke base on his back leg
was not working and he was very confused on why it was not working. Going in circles trying to get it to work and then fell over.

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Cabo King
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:32pm
Pleae remove this video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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- Politikellyincorrect
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 3:47pm
  How’bout they leave it and you simply don’t watch it?
  
  Report this comment
- smokie
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 4:03pm
  Uponreviewing the video, many people were ableto discern whatwas wrong. Please simply don’t watch it. Those of us that have had seizures can understand what was happening.
  NPR made special nice, and showed the poor thing lifeless inthe pool.
  I suspect the Passel of Contrarians, PETA, now demand he be re-animated. When hewas born, and everyone was cheering his life, they were demanding lethal injection, because, as we all know, they love animals. When the zoo borrowed for him a girlfriend, PETA wanted hi castrate.
  So many animal activist poppsycholigists were so busy projecting their agenda and their own mommy issues ontoa defenseless bear, that they forgot that his behavior might be due to a physical ilness.
  
  Report this comment
- smokie
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 4:13pm
  Helpful note-
  Do not type on ipad in noon day sun. It becomes a jumble
  
  Report this comment
- Bob_R_OathKeeper
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 4:18pm
  How about removing yourself from this site?
  
  Report this comment
tmedlin
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:31pm
the actions look similar to what recently happened to my little Jack Russell – the circling, over and over and then brain seizure. She survived for a couple of months, but eventually, we had to put her to sleep. It’s very, very sad – but if he was having brain seizures, he’s at peace, now.

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Warphead
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:29pm
Poor little guy. I can empathize with animals much more than most humans. At least he had some time to play and be lazy. In the wild he probably would have died in days after being abandoned.

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goatkid
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:26pm
I’ve been a farmer my whole life. I’ve seen a lot of things happen to animals that sometimes just can’t be explained. The fact is that crap happens in the animal world that we can’t do anything about. As Whitefang said. It is remarkable that animals know when their babies are defective. The mother leaving the baby is natures way of dealing with these sort of problems. It is sad, but in the wild this little cub would have starved to death before it died of an aneurism, or whatever it was.

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teddrunk
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:25pm
If we only could of traded that fate from Knut to Rep. Anthony Weiner

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count_me_in
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:22pm
That has to be the saddest thing i have ever seen… :( looked like might have been a seizure or some thing… :(

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- goatkid
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:28pm
  @ Count_me_in
  Seriously! The saddest thing you’ve ever seen? Do you know what happened in Japan?
  
  Report this comment
- Warphead
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:38pm
  Lighten up GOATKID. Not everything said is literal. Have you ever heard of euphemisms, expressions, sayings? It’s how we humans express things through language. Would you like it better if COUNT-ME-IN had said “that is sad”? Kinda falls flat in expressing any feeling. If it makes you feel better, it was the saddest thing I have seen… in the last hour.
  A really, wasted comment.
  
  Report this comment
Maggie in Indiana
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:21pm
People react differently to some things. For me it shows just fragile life is, even for this massive powerful bear. Here one minute enjoying the sun and the next…death is always around the corner for all of us. Such a loss for such a beautiful animal.

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PurrrpleMtnMajesty
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:17pm
What a beautiful creature of God.
Thanks for the warning on the video…I refused to watch and personally don’t
see what that kind of sensationalism does for good journalistic reporting.
It doesn’t add to the story and this poor creature has been observed by the
public since birth…can’t he at least have some privacy and respect in death?

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mimitweetin
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:16pm
Just by watching the video I would say Seizure. After I watched I read the article and it seems I am correct. I would also like to add that the mother knew the bear wouldn’t live, which is why she rejected him at birth. I used to breed golden retrievers and found that any puppy my dog rejected, I was only able to save for a few days to 2 weeks no matter what I did. She knew! I also have a dog that has seziures which is why I beleive that is what happened.

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teddrunk
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:16pm
When questioned, Knut’s handler said, “I saw nothing….nothing”

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Islesfordian
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:15pm
Contrast this testimony to our compassion and hopeful estimation of the value of life of even the littlest creature with the general acceptance of abortion. This mother bear rejected her cub but that cub was rescued from death even though it may well have been “defective”. If we do not surpass that compassion to rescue children condemned to death because their mothers reject them we might as well behave like the naimals that Knut’s mother was. At least SHE may have had a bilogically sensible reason for infanticide.

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- Rapunzel
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 10:22pm
  And she didn’t reject them because they were inconvenient – or even kill them outright.
  
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Rodster
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:14pm
At least he went out with a splash !

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- tomdanmor
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 7:31pm
  Lol. Perfect.
  
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- blazebird
  Posted on March 23, 2011 at 6:20pm
  Good one!! I went from being sad to laughing my a** off. LOL
  
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christos
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:07pm
Kinda looked like when cows have mad cow disease,they stumble around look disoriented,toxic poison/maybe,

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Bluestraveler
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:07pm
RIP Knut. So very sad……….

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StuntDrivin4U
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:04pm
Sad, very sad. Seems to be some type of stroke or another brain malfunction.

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Goohuman
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:03pm
Goodbye Knut. Back to the news please.

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- DVT
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 6:42pm
  What may not be news to you IS news to others…if you dont like it go elsewhere!
  
  Report this comment
Keith B
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:59pm
Heartbreaking.

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DVT
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:58pm
Sad!

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LOOKING_BOTH_WAYS
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:56pm
maybe a Stroke ?

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dancermommd
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:56pm
It looks like he had a seizure the way he was shaking his head. He definately had something going on in his brain. Poor thing. I hope he wasn’t in pain.

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- bullcrapbuster
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:37pm
  I grew up on the farm. This is tame compared to some of the things that happen at calving time. He was a cute little bear.
  
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- TrueGrit
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:37pm
  God’s speed to the guy.
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:50pm
Sounds like he has a massive seizure, or maybe a brain anurism leading to his death.

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- TERMLIMITSNOW
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:55pm
  Why would anyone want to see this??? Come on Blaze…!
- WhiteFang
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:56pm
  It is remarkable that animal mothers can sense their baby is defective.
- proudconservative
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 1:59pm
  The way he lost total control and fell into the water leads me to believe he had a massive stroke, truly sad.
  
  Report this comment
- Politikellyincorrect
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:03pm
  Stroke maybe? Very sad.
  
  @termlimitsnow- People watch because of morbid curiosity….the same reason people turn to look at an accident scene. …. The same reason you looked :)
  But that’s okay… we all know it made you feel guilty. We did too.
  
  Report this comment
- mattwakulik
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:09pm
  yeah. i had no idea this polar bear existed until this article appeared! sorry but, i dont really care!
- TERMLIMITSNOW
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:09pm
  @Kelly, I didn’t click the vid……I hear ya though. BTW…nice handle, that’s a goooood one!
  
  Report this comment
- Showtime
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:12pm
  Thank you for showing this video. I wanted to see Knut’s behavior before his death. Something certainly failed him, and the necropsy revealed that it was his brain. Since his twin died a couple of days after being born, and their mother rejected them both, it is possible that the two suffered from the same disorder. Interesting.
  
  Report this comment
- mill
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:30pm
  people complain if you post the video and complain if you don’t…
  
  DON”T wanT to see it??? don’t open it…problem solved
- LIBSALWAYSLIE
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:37pm
  TERMLIMITSNOW
  then dont watch, no one is forcing you, or anyone to view the footage. grow up.
  
  Report this comment
- CatB
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 2:58pm
  He had some strange behavioral problems all his life .. this could possibly explain it and why his mother rejected him … he had 4 years that the animal rights people would have denied him .. they “threw a fit” at him being raised by zoo keepers and wanted them to let him die. RIP Knut
  
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- GONESURFING
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 3:11pm
  Al Gore is sure it was because of global warming.
  
  Report this comment
- sophiepuggle
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 3:11pm
  I agree. looked like a stroke or something. If his mother rejected him at birth she knew there was something wrong with him at that point. that’s what they do in the wild. So sad to watch this though
  
  Report this comment
- walkwithme1966
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 3:21pm
  Stroke – I had a friend who had a stroke in front of me and that is exactly how she acted and I also had a cat who had a stroke with symptoms a lot like that. So sad!! http://wp.me/pYLB7-LC
  
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- pm69cv64
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 3:35pm
  Come on people as much as I like this site and respect most of you not all though. [You all know the pinheads I'm talking about,] we really cannot forge an opinion on knuts death, after all how do you know it wasn’t a bite from insect, snake etc. its sad but its life, AND BESIDES ASK THE LEFT WIENER AND HIS MORONS THIS WAS THE WORK OF GEORGE BUSH HALIBURTON CHENEY.
  
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- Infected
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 3:41pm
  Seizure… Mad Cow… Socialism… Communism
  
  All are brain disorders
  
  Report this comment
- joseph Fawcett
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 4:53pm
  I agree with PROUDCONSERATIVE, it looks like a massive stroke to me too. Especially the way he fell into the water. The cause of death I would imagine is drowning. For me this was not that bad to watch. It did not look like the bear was suffering with pain or any other trama. Strokes don’t hurt or a person doesn’t suffer through them. The brain does not have any pain nerves that is why they do brain surgery while the paitent is awake and aware of the surroundings. I would be interested to find out what the changes were that took place, or were there. I am thinking this would have happened in the wild if the bear would not have been in a zoo.
  
  http://www.josephfawcettart.com western artist
  
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- dealer@678
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 9:26pm
  Even though his mother rejected him at birth ( bad sign) they had to give the guy a chance. He got 4 years that he wouldnt have had.
  
  Report this comment
- Gold Coin & Economic News
  Posted on March 22, 2011 at 11:21pm
  Can’t watch the video, it’s got to be too heartbreaking.
  
  Report this comment
- sp1223c
  Posted on March 24, 2011 at 11:28am
  Termlimitsnow must not have read the disclaimer.
  
  Report this comment
- the_zazzy
  Posted on March 24, 2011 at 12:40pm
  He had no icebergs in that zoo! We’re now seeing the true effects of this global warming Gore has been telling us about. Miami you better pack up and move inland real soon. It’s coming!!!
  
  Report this comment

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