Awwww, isn't that cute...he's yawning.

Nature isn't cuddly...

I think the proclivity of H. Sapiens Sapiens to find to be "cute" various clumsy baby furry things with anthropomorphic "smiles" precedes Disney. At least, it tends to work for puppies and kittens. And our species is known for the degree of care that we attend to our slow-developing young. It's the price we pay for higher developing later.

It would be interesting to study the fMRI scans of people looking at baby Knut, versus those of people looking at adult Knut. And we can throw in scans of engineers who are developing "six inches of glass capable of withstanding a mortar attack", as was protecting the little boy studying to be a veterinary dentist.

I suspect there are different parts of the brain involved ;-)

More income for the zoo...
Bear bangers will now be sold at the novelty shop!

"Knut was rejected by his mother at birth"

She could tell right away, he was bad to the bone.

Interesting to reflect back to the L.A. Zoo where some foolish young hellians found out the hard way that the tiger enclosure was not designed properly to contain said beast. Whoever decided on the width of the mote or ditch didn't know how far some tigers could jump when the adrenalin was flowing.
Some ordinary black bears can catch a horse in a short 50 yd chase. Some black bears cannot. Some black bears kill people every year in B.C.. Some outdoor recreationists are very naive. Some professional conservation workers are as well.

Well, well, so much for the polar bear posters, and save the polar bear campaigns, there goes the Knut T-shirts.

I thought those polar bears were all stranded on melting ice!

Interesting to reflect back to the L.A. Zoo

That was San Francisco, actually.

Once I saw a pic of a man in a cage with a polar bear trying to get at him and the thing looked like a big carnivorous horse! I would go nowhere near them without at least 3000ft-lb of muzzle energy in my hands

In that vein, TVO is running a series every Sunday about a Prehistoric Park where they have managed to create life-like dinosaurs and raptors of every kind that the scientists are trying to keep from becoming extinct. They trim the hair of the wooly mammoth and herd the brontosauruses away from the volcano. It's fascinating really. The whole thing looks so real.

The uglier flip side of this are the stories of cougars that are shot for - gasp - killing some local fauna within eyeshot of horrified locals. Just read another story with this depressingly predictable theme recently; beautiful animal being punished for doing what it's built to do, albeit offending the delicate sensibilities of locals while doing it. Another proof of the uniqueness of humanity - they kill for food, we kill because we're offended.

Better them then me or mine.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/08/18/Cougar_new040818.html

I don't think it's correct to label P-Bears "killers" as they are only following their natural instincts...those being, that this is the most aggressive and curious of all the Ursine species.

Ask Churchill residents about these bear's aggressive curiosity...they routinely break into storage sheds and out buildings where they smell even the slightest whiff of what they believe to be food...want to see aggression?...get between a P-bear and some food or a cub or his avenue of escape.

P-bears are naturally aggressive...God knows what keeping one confined to a zoo will do to that....maybe they can sedate "knute" with Prozac like they do with their hyperactive kids...who knows what urban wildlife "mythologists" think?

This fuzzball-to-Terminator thing is the reason .40 caliber rifles were invented.

Around here the anti-hunting morons have been so successful I've got scrawny deer in my back yard. At 10AM. Think they're hungry?!

It is a measure of the Brits that their papers run this kind of nonsense. They don't get nature.

Wingwalker,

It's a bit of a cliche but... I laughed out loud.

The little one is wondering when its next tasty seal is comming from

See, they live on the ice pack. There's not much up there, so they EAT WHATEVER THEY CAN.

Hope it helps.

Hey Phantom,

Ever consider that there are too many deer in your back yard because all the predators have been shot?

Human toddler -- it's what's for dinner!

I wouldn't blame Walt Disney so much. Some of his animals, like some of his people, are Not Nice.

Blame his viewers instead.

Warwick, nope. There are plenty predators in Southern Ontario. Wolves, coyotes, somebody spotted a black bear just outside Dundas a couple years ago. Remember, you can't shoot them either.

No, what we have here is a perfect environment for a deer population explosion. Nice conservation area land all through the Hamilton/Dundas area. Lots of forest and grass. No hunting allowed, not bow, not shotgun.

Predators, not being stupid grass eaters, know enough not to come around predator numero uno, us. So they don't come around here.

Deer though, have no sense. They come around. They've expanded until today, right now, they've eaten every leaf and stick in the conservation area less than 6 feet off the ground. There is no undergrowth.

Because they've eaten every goddamn thing in the woods already this winter, now they come to my house and nibble on the shrubbery.

I could care less about the frickin' plants. But you know, a full grown deer is not something to be sneezed at in terms of its capacity to kick your ass. Spring is coming, bucks are known to get pretty pushy this time of year. They have antlers. Which are sharp.

I could do without that in my backyard, thanks.

McGehee, thanks for the correction; it was San Fran.
The responsible thing to do when WILD ANIMALS are found in an area frequented by humans is to eliminate them. They are WILD ANIMALS and as such are unpredictable and dangerous around humans. They are not there because of some evil human encroachment on their territory, their populations have exploded in the last two decades because of lack of hunting and a prolific environment. the Black Bear population has doubled in the last decade and doubled in the decade before that. Bears are territorial. A new bear will not be tolerated in the territory of an old one so the newby will be driven out. Several years ago, a young woman was killed by a black bear within the city limits. Bears have driven residents in North Vancouver out of their homes last year. Deer as well are roaming around the green areas of apartment grounds. I was horrified to watch one dummy approach one to feed it with his kids in tow.
I know we were all brought up with that Disney Wonder World mindset but maybe a few of us need to grow up.

"Knut should have been able to witness other bears behaviour and socialised with them."

How? By letting Knut mingle with other bears? As a cub? The adult males would kill him and eat him.

"As he grew bigger the keeper should have gradually reduced the amount of time spent with the bear not just to suddenly cut off all contact."

We're presuming that's what happened?

"Now he is left in an enclosure away from the keeper he must have bonded with. His behaviour will change and he is now clearly showing signs of suffering and trauma."

Oh you've GOT to be kidding me!

Bears are solitary animals by nature. I'm sure Knut will get over it as soon as yesterday gets here.

Trauma. In a bear. Oh please let's not flatter the animals with emotional responses they can't form!

[If anyone's likely to be traumatised it'd be the kid Knut was lunging at.]