Posted on Dec 29, 2007 under Knut News |
San Diego Zoo’s unbearably cute giant panda cub, Zhen Zhen, has finally made her public debut.
Zhen Zhen, whose name means precious in Chinese, was born on August 3 and has been kept out of public view, living in a den with her mother.
The cub, which weighs 7.7kg, was on display for two hours on Saturday.
“We weren’t sure how much interest there’d be, since we have four pandas,” zoo spokesman Andrew Circo told AP. “But a lot of people came out to see her.” Is Zhen Zhen cuter than Knut, the polar bear cub at a German zoo who captured the world’s heart?
(news.ninemsn.com.au)
Posted on Dec 22, 2007 under Knut News |
December 19, 2007 — KNUT the polar bear, who turned 1 on Dec. 5, was celebrated Sunday at the American Museum of Natural History at the book party for “Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World,” by Juliana, Isabella and Craig Hatkoff - the daughters and husband of Tribeca Film Festival biggie Jane Rosenthal, who co-hosted the party with Karenna Gore Schiff. Knut and his brother were abandoned by their mother in the Berlin Zoo. The brother died of an infection, and then some animal-rights activists argued that Knut should be allowed to die, too. But the zoo bottle-fed him, as most of Germany and the world prayed. Among those who toasted the bear, and the book: supermodel Irina Pantaeva, Douglas Kennedy and Dana Hammond Stubgen.
(www.nypost.com)
Posted on Dec 16, 2007 under Knut News |
The man credited with turning polar bear cub Knut into a global brand has left his job at Berlin Zoo. The zoo decided on Monday not to extend Gerald Uhlich’s contract beyond 2007, but he has already cleared his desk, German newspapers reported.
Former finance director Mr Uhlich told reporters he had reached an “amicable” agreement to leave early.
However, media reports said he left over a dispute with colleagues over how the zoo should be run.
It comes weeks after Knut celebrated his first birthday, amid much media coverage.
‘Positive image’
It is thought that Mr Uhlich’s co-director at the zoo, Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, had become increasingly uneasy at the effect Knut’s popularity was having on the zoo.
Mr Blaszkiewitz was quoted earlier this year as saying that the zoo was turning into an amusement park.
Mr Uhlich told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur news agency that he was not ashamed of the work he had done at the zoo.
“The zoo has become profitable and it has gained a very positive image in Germany and across the world,” he said.
Mr Uhlich is said to be responsible for boosting the zoo’s revenues during his tenure, licensing Knut’s image for use on t-shirts, toys posters and even sweets.
Visitor numbers have soared since the birth of the bear, who has his own blog and has appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.
More than a million people visited the zoo to watch Knut frolic with keeper Thomas Doerflein in twice-daily shows, until the bear grew too big.
(news.bbc.co.uk)
