Talk:Knut (polar bear)

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Contents

[edit] What did the activist really say?

Someone posted a link to a place where he posted his opinion. [1]

Can anyone translate German?--Steele the Wolf 03:23, 24 March 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Translation of Activist response

"It is absolutely incorrect that the animal rights activist who filed charges against the Berlin zoo over the hand-raising of Knut (case number 52 Js 698/07) demanded that Knut be killed as well. Animal rights activists fight for the recognition of the right to live of non-human animals. The activist's press release concerning this ended with the line "Therefore, they also have a right to a life", too. It's also not correct that the sloth bear baby who was killed in Leipzig didn't have a chance. The little one had already been accepted by a female dog, he was already drinking again and was being kept warm. It was precisely this important fact that was ignored by the prosecutor's office in Leipzig when determining whether there was a reason for the killing. [Note: the grammar's quite wrong in that last sentence, but I *think* that this is what the author wanted to say.]

Animal lovers were very surprised by today's statement by the director of the Leipzig zoo that this hand-raising of a bear was "an entirely different case" now; after all, the director, Dr. Junhold, also made the following statement in the past: "For the hand-raising of wild animals is not appropriate" ["appropriate" in the sense of "good for the animal"]. However, those who are wondering now and who're asking for the reason for these two different statements are not getting an answer from the zoos. I've got an answer for them: Zoos want to decide from now on who is allowed to survive, when and where. This ethically-morally reprehensible goal of the zoos, this sanctimony and hypocrisy must be exposed first and stopped immediately. This was precisely the reason why I filed charges against the Berlin zoo."

Credit for translation goes to Schneelocke --Steele the Wolf 21:55, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

The activist said he only wanted to show an inconsistency in argumentation, since the Leipzig Zoo had put to sleep a small bear (of another species) some time ago. However, the activist alerted the local prosecutors that the Berlin zoo was committing a felony in upbringing Knut. Either he believed that to be true, or the activist committed a felony himself, for it is a felony in Germany to accuse someone of a felony which was knowingly not committed. (I am a German natural speaker, so excuse my language errors.) 91.1.132.5 21:58, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Your English is very good as far as I am concerned. I appreciate the help, thanks. --Steele the Wolf 22:29, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bild watch blog

Bild is apparently a very popular newspaper in Germany that has a record for a lack of quality in their fact checking, especially when something suits their POV. So I have been told by a few German sources. Below is some information on other articles and webpages who corrected the Bild story.

http://www.bildblog.de/?p=2150

However we must tell you also something sad, something, which one does not learn in the zoo: You were clean-put. Knut should not be killed at all. Nobody had seriously demanded that. You (and obviously also the adults) a “false alarm”2 mounted, as one says in such a way. Exactly the same as many media3, which history from the “pictures” - newspaper far-counted. Therefore is not unfortunately also correct, what today in the “pictures” - newspaper over you stands:

-Google translation [2]

No, a wrong quotation. On 24 January, thus, franc Albrecht, which investigates since sixteen years of animal protection offences in German Tierparks, sent scarcely six weeks away after Knuts birth a press release. Therein it communicated that it had indicated the citizen of Berlin to zoo because of offence against the animal law for the protection, because of the not kind-fair attitude of Knut.

-Google translation

[edit] link to photo gallery about Knut

A few days ago I've added a link to a photo gallery about Knut. Today the Link wasn't here and I could not see why and who has deleted. The link points to my own page, all the photos are taken by myself. I allow linking to this side. If this is not desired, please leave a short notice. Thanks, Jens Koßmagk —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.191.111.217 (talk) 12:42, 27 March 2007 (UTC).

I've just replied to your talk page, anon IP, but I will also reply here. I understand that the link you are attempting to provide is your own personal website, and that you give permission for its use. However, the linking of personal websites (meaning those not written by a recognized authority) is discouraged on Wikipedia because of their lack of reliability and notability. Please read Wikipedia:External links for more info. Please refrain from adding links to blogs and personal websites in the future. Thank you. María: (habla conmigo) 12:45, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, I've had problems in logging in. Thanks for your reply and the information. A second sorry for the trouble. Best regards, Jens —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jensk369 (talk • contribs) 13:03, 27 March 2007 (UTC).
No problem, I'm glad you're willing to listen. Oh, and for future reference, to sign your name to posts (because it's helpful on talk pages), just add four tilde (~) after your comment and it'll automatically add your username. Thanks, and welcome to wiki. :) María: (habla conmigo) 13:05, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] the colbert link

What happened to the Colbert link? Isn't it relevant? I think it is because there's a significant issue worth discussion on the main page about how the zoo rallied public media support, and Colbert was one of the first in the United States to cover Knut. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.79.158.200 (talk) 12:56, 27 March 2007 (UTC).

It is not an official, reliable source; it is a clip of a faux news program in which Colbert jokingly refers to Knut as number 0.5 in his "Mini-Threatdown" despite his cute little button eyes. Therefore, it's irrelevent. Besides, Colbert was certainly not the "one of the first" in the US to cover the story; CNN, MSNBC and FOXnews, among others, got there before him. That's why it was removed. María: (habla conmigo) 13:10, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Don't be a hator! Colbert is always relevant CHANDLER   23:56, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
Oh, I'm a huge fan, believe me. It's just, you know, reliable news sources take precedence over Colbert calling Knut a "killer" on his Mini-Threatdown, all the while trying not to laugh...  :) María (habla conmigo) 23:59, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] German-language sources are okay

To summarize the point I made on my talk page, Wikipedia:Attribution#Language explicitly states that "Sources in other languages are acceptable if no English equivalents have been found," so information from German-language sources should not be deleted, but we should try to see whether or not we can find alternative English-language sources. Calbaer 19:43, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I couldn't have said it better myself. - Mgm|(talk) 11:38, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
I'd suggest something like this http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1887892.htm I don't have time to put the content from there into the article, though :( 121.45.41.8 04:00, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Knut's Name

Does anyone know what the name "Knut" means?

It's a common name, actually. According to Behind the Name, it's "derived from Old Norse knútr meaning "knot." María (críticame) 19:51, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Don't we need a new picture?

I just looked at the picture from Reuter's, and apparently Knut is not a baby polar bear like depicted in the picture on this page :(. Merumerume 02:02, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

I don't think this is necessary, since Wikipedia is not a primary source and doesn't necessarily need to be up to date with news stories, including recent pictures. Because the image in the infobox is so iconic, I believe it is very befitting to the article. If others wish to see other pictures that are not included, including ones that may be "up to date," they can click on the link to the Commons at the bottom of the page. María (críticame) 15:34, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Knut's not on a diet.

Although many media in and outside Germany reported that Knut is overweight and forced to go on a diet, Dr. André Schüle, the vet of Zoo Berlin, talked in a German TV show Abendschau of Aug. 3 [3]that the "diet" story is some misunderstanding. He explained that Knut is now given less milk porriage for babies, and more "adult foods" such as fish, meat and vegetables, and he is neither too fat nor too thin.--Eryniel 05:10, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA tips

For GA, expand the lead. It should summarize the article, right now it is way too short. Also, format the refs properly and consistently, they should look similar to the current footnote number 30. Dates in article are not formatted consistently. Rlevse 12:34, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA on hold

I have reviewed this article according to the requirements of the GA criteria and have put the article on hold until the following issues are addressed:

  1. As said in the above section by Rlevse, expand the lead to better summarize the article (maybe another sentence or two). All of the footnotes should have an author, date the information was created, and the date it was accessed. Also, go throughout the article and wikilink full dates.
  • I've expanded the lead somewhat, but I may play with it further. I've also formatted all of the citations and wikilinked the dates.
  1. "After the unproblematic gestation time of the 20-year old polar bear Tosca". Add a hyphen between year and old.
  • Done.
  1. Did his brother have a name?
  • No, he didn't survive long enough. Added "unnamed" and also the fact that he died from an infection.
  1. "Tosca, who is a former circus performer, rejected Knut and his brother." Are you able to elaborate on how the polar bear rejected the two bears? Wouldn't feed them, avoided them, attacked them, etc.
  • This is difficult to say; most sources merely say "rejected," while a couple mention a threat of Tosca mauling Knut, which has already been mentioned.
  1. "zoo keeper Thomas Dörflein" I don't think he needs a wikilink around his name, it's not likely he's going to have his own article. "As a result, Dörflein has become a minor celebrity." Celebrity where, in Berlin, worldwide, specify if you can.
  • Removed wikilink, and added "in Berlin Germany," which is what the citation says.
  1. "Around 400 journalists visited Berlin Zoo" Berlin Zoo doesn't need to be wikilinked again.
  • Done.
  1. "After reaching seven months old and 110lbs in July of 2007" Add a space in between 110 and lbs.
  • Done.
  1. "On the August 1, 2007, Knut" Remove "the".
  • Done.
  1. "Knut was put on a diet by reducing the amount of meals from four to three and stopping treats such as croissants, due to him putting on too much weight too early. [12]" Are these daily meals? "stopping treats" should be reworded, sounds awkward. Remove the space between the inline citation and the punctuation.
  • Done and done, and specified.
  1. "but merely to call attention to the Leipzig decision, which would have granted the Berlin Zoo the right to kill the polar bear cub[17]." Inline citation goes after the punctuation.
  • Done.
  1. "As a result its shares at the Berlin Stock Exchange, which are normally worth around 2000 euros, more than doubled in value closing at 4820 euros just a week later.[20]" Add wikilinks for share and euro.
  • Done.
  1. "Not only the zoo has profited from the attention surrounding Knut: several companies offer Knut-related products from ringtones to cuddly toys." Reword the sentence, perhaps start off with "Various companies have profited off of the attention surrounding Knut by developing themed products such as ringtones and cuddly toys." or something to that effect.
  • Agreed, I like the way you put it; done.
  1. "Candy company Haribo has decided to release a raspberry-flavored Cuddly Knut sweet in April 2007" It is now past April 2007, did they release the sweet?
  • Good question, I've updated this with new info (the gummies sold so well they had to open up a new factory to keep up with the demand!) and a ref.
  1. "One company even made Knut themed cough-drops." Add a hyphen in between Knut and themed, remove the one between cough drops. Also add an inline citation for the information.
  • I couldn't find a ref for this, so I just deleted it.
  1. "Knut was also the subject of several songs. The most successful were the single "Knut is Cute" and the song by 9-year-old Kitty from Köpenick titled "Knut, der kleine Eisbär" (English: “Knut, the little polar bear”) which was also released as a single." Combine the two sentences.
  • Done, and cleaned up.
  1. "Knut also appeared on the March 29, 2007 cover of the German Vanity Fair magazine." Include any information about the significance of this or if there was an inside story about Knut.
  • There was a spread in the magazine, but I'm still looking for refs to prove it.
  1. "Knut: How one little polar bear captivated the world" Check and see if this book has been released yet. If it has, update the information about it.
  • It has been released, so I've updated the info.
  1. See if there are any other categories that can be added to the article. Not a requirement, but the article could be easier to find if readers could search for it from other areas.
  • The Category:Famous animals categories are rather spare, but I've created and added a 2006 animal births category to the article so there are now two.

The article is well-referenced and it's great that you have the two free images. Address the above issues within seven days and I'll pass the article. The majority of these shouldn't take too long to fix. If you have any questions or when you are done, let me know on my talk page and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. --Nehrams2020 00:22, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Okay, sure! I'm surprised it was nominated for GA status (no way did I think it was advanced enough, and I even mentioned that to the individual who nominated it), but if you feel it's close, Nehrams2020, I'll work on it tweaking it as you suggest. There are tons of sources available, so I'll see what I can do. María (críticame) 00:38, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
I saw the note on his page only after I had completed the review. It's obviously nowhere near FA status, but the article is close to reaching GA when the above are addressed. It would be great if you continue to add more information from the abundant sources, as the more information you provide with sources to back it up, the article will continue to improve. You have seven days, so improve it as you like and I'll let you know if anything needs to be fixed further. Good job on addressing some of the points so far. --Nehrams2020 05:16, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
Thanks, I've completed most of what you suggested and am still adding more information. I'll let you know when I'm finished. María (críticame) 17:28, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Just a few more things

Good job on addressing the above so far, but there are a few more things that should be addressed:

  1. In the intro, "After a German tabloid magazine (Bild) ran a quote", reword to "After the German tabloid magaizne Bild ran a quote..." or "After Bild, a German tabloid magazine, ran a quote...".
  2. "Knut even has his own blog, in German, English and Spanish, that is written by a journalist at the regional public broadcaster, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, and has been the subject of several DVDs." Split this into two sentences. Maybe mention some more details about the DVDs if possible (are they documentaries, cartoons, etc.) Also, consider rewording to "A blog is also maintained with updates about the polar bear by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, a journalist at the regional public broadcaster, and it has been translated to German, English, and Spanish."
  3. Split the inline citations at the bottom into two columns. Look to other GAs for examples.

Once these are addressed, I'll pass the article. It's great that you are continuing to look for more information, which helps to expand the article. --Nehrams2020 03:01, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I've completed all of the suggestions! I slightly reworded the blog suggestion so it makes more sense grammatically; Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is the broadcaster, not the journalist, and since German was the original language, it was not technically translated into it. Other than that, the rest I did to the letter. I'm still working on adding info, and plan on writing a "Future plans" section that will include info on the zoo's plans to stud Knut out once he reaches sexual maturity. Oo la la! María (críticame) 13:46, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA passed

Excellent work on improving the article compared to what it was when the article was first nominated. I have passed this article according to the requirements of the GA criteria. Keep improving the article, and the expansion plans you listed above sound like they will make the article better. Ensure that all new information is properly sourced so that the article maintains its high quality. If you have the time, consider reviewing an article or two at GAC to allow other editors receive a quick review of their articles to be improved to GA status. Again, good job, and I hope you continue to keep improving articles on Wikipedia. --Nehrams2020 05:46, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! :) María (críticame) 12:13, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image concerns moved from FAC

Uhm, I still don't understand what is so special about the cover of the German Vanity Fair that it has to be noted with an extra copyrighted image here. The book … well, it's the only notable book which has been published up to now (mainly because of the author, not because of the actual content though), so I can - to some extent at least - follow your argumentation regarding that image, but this magazine? Could someone explain please? --Ü (talk) 23:33, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

The book is notable for several reasons, actually, including the author who has had success with another children's book about a pair of popular zoo animals. As I said above, Craig Hatkoff's book is the first to be authorized by the Zoo itself and it's being published internationally. As for the German Vanity Fair cover, it was the second ever issue of the magazine, which I think is notable in itself, and although I'm not German, and I certainly can't speak or read German, for me it made sense to have a German magazine in the article rather than, say, one of the numerous other magazines from around the world that had stories about the bear featured on their cover. Another possibility was the American Vanity Fair's Green Issue featuring Knut and Leonardo DiCaprio, but like I said, a German magazine makes sense because that is where a majority of Knut's popularity has taken place; not to mention he's from there. María (habla conmigo) 23:43, 29 November 2007 (UTC)
Hmm, perhaps you are (naturally, no offense meant) not aware of how intense the media coverage in Germany actually has been. But the German (and btw weekly) VF is rather unimportant here (fairly low circulation). It's just one out of many magazines and newspapers that put Knut on the covers (not to forget all the TV shows). From a German point of view I would really suggest to leave out that unfree image. It's completely sufficient to note VF within the text, if you think it's reasonable, but there's no need especially for that image (due to an obvious "lack of relevance" of this magazine within Germany). And afaik the international/US issue didn't have Knut on its cover, right? Please note, that I only insist on this issue (the images) because I am positive about encyclopedic value of the text itself. (see [4] in addition) --Ü (talk) 00:11, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
Well, as an American, I can only guess from afar at the intense coverage in Germany, so I'll take your word for it that the German VF is not as notable as I've been lead to believe by my reading -- there were quite a few comments about it in the articles I've read. If it were removed, would you suggest replacing it with something else? Should I just bite the bullet and upload the American Vanity Fair (which is monthly and rather popular -- it was also the first Green issue, as I've said before)? Or what about a picture of the candy or stuffies, as Awadewit suggested below? María (habla conmigo) 00:21, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
Vanity Fair Germany is not even a year old and not really succesfull, so far.--85.180.9.204 (talk) 13:17, 10 January 2008 (UTC)
Do you have any suggestions? Would the American Vanity Fair magazine cover work better? María (habla conmigo) 16:06, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Featured article?

I'm actually surprised this article got featured recently. There are some severe problems with the text, imho. The article suffers from strange and unnecessary exaggerations throughout and constantly overstates its own prominence. For example, does it really have to be a "mass media phenomenon", wouldn't a "media phenomenon" have been enough? Who "highly anticipated" the celebration of the first birthday; from what I heard most people were actually surprised that Knut was already one year old. How exactly did "fans rally in support" and how did the "worldwide public outrage" look like, except for some brief mentions as a 'cute item' in the news? The article regularly fails to put statements into perspective, e.g. the massive surge of Berlin Zoo shares where very short lived [5], the "popular songs" where not that popular after all, Knut, der kleine Eisbär only peaked at No. 29 in German charts, the "weekly television program" is long over, actually there were only ten episodes from what I understand [6], and I would also be interested in a source for the live broadcast of Knut's birthday; I doubt that any station except the two very small German news channels N24 and n-tv reported live about this. EnemyOfTheState (talk) 14:32, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

There are sources that support the adjectives and elaborations, and frankly it has been scaled down somewhat for the article. Phrases like "mass media phenomenon" appear again and again in a lot of the sources that have been used, so I trust that is how Knut is thought of by those who write the news. It is not a matter of how you may interpret Knut's popularity, but of how the media has. The entire article is adequately and reliably sourced, although I wouldn't be adverse to changing a little of the wording so that it does not seem heavy handed. btw, there is a source for the live broadcast of Knut's first birthday (ref 28), and I remember various other articles mentioning it. María (habla conmigo) 15:08, 26 December 2007 (UTC)
EOTS, Mass media does not mean "massive media". It's a term that has a distinct meaning. It's not an exaggeration of something. A "media phenomenon" would mean something different, so I don't think that can be changed. I think you're right that some of these other points could use clarification and follow-up. Your points are all quite minor though, could be fixed in only a few minutes really, so I'm not sure why you felt it was necessary to say there were "severe problems" with the text. --JayHenry (talk) 03:34, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
My criticism remains that the tone is inappropriate at times. I was merely pointing out examples above, there are more in the text. "News of Knut and his life at the zoo was still being heavily reported internationally in late 2007"? I really don't know how Knut's life could be described as "heavily reported" international news in the last couple of months - this would have been a stretch on the height of his popularity in the spring. The statement "visitor numbers have dwindled from extreme highs in March and April", which might be technically correct, could be interpreted as they are still very high, just not extreme any more, while in fact there are no longer any crowds at Knut's enclosure. The decline of Knut's popularity isn't dealt with at all - or even properly mentioned really. I don't care about the FA status of this article, all I'm saying is the text would benefit from being toned down somewhat. EnemyOfTheState (talk) 13:31, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
Fair enough; I'll work it. María (habla conmigo) 13:41, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
Thanks for your efforts. I think it's definitely an improvement. It might still be a good idea to mention the peak chart position of this Knut song for example, though I don't have a citable source for this right now. EnemyOfTheState (talk) 14:04, 4 January 2008 (UTC)
I'm actually rather surprised about the impression of global importance this article is trying to communicate. If this polar bear cub has been the center of global media attention, then I find it alarming that I read the first thing about it here on wikipedia since its today's featured article. Is it possible, that this English article reflects the perception Germans would have? I could understand why anyone in Germany would think that the rest of the world pays the same kind of attention to the things that rock the boat in Germany, but honestly, this is rarely the case. So perhaps the article should reflect the regional character of the media hype, rather than give the impressing that the whole world was looking at Knut for days, or weeks even. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.212.29.83 (talk) 16:55, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
The article makes it quite clear that although Knut was a media darling and phenomenon worldwide (come on, he appeared on the cover of countless newspapers and magazines around the world at the height of his popularity), a good deal of his notability has to do with the impact he has had on the Berlin Zoo's financial status. This is described in figures as well as anecdotes about products and features. I believe this is explored well enough in the article, although there is always room for expansion once more information becomes available. María (habla conmigo) 17:01, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
featured? - how in tarnation is this notable at all? Z1perlster (talk) 17:05, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
The answer you seek can be found in the lead of the article. Although he's only 14 months old (and ursine), Knut is indeed notable, as the Berlin Zoo's shareholders would be able to tell you. ;) María (habla conmigo) 17:23, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
I would have deleted that as uncontributive sarcasm. Alientraveller (talk) 22:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
Yeah, I was tempted, but I think I hit my limit of reverts for today. Oi. María (habla conmigo) 23:20, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Comparison

Has there ever been a comparison with Inuka? Out of curiosity. Chensiyuan (talk) 01:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Nothing explicit, no; the media has such a short memory. Of course, now comparisons are being made regarding Knut and Flocke, a polar bear cub orphaned at the Nuremberg Zoo this past December... María (habla conmigo) 01:40, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Why is he brown?

I'm sorry if this is not relevant, but I was just wondering why Knut was brown. Polar bears do not shed their coats for summer, so why is he darker? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.45.148.97 (talk) 01:52, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

He's not brown in that image, he's just filthy! He likes to roll in the dirt. ;) María (habla conmigo) 01:56, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Clarify: Two separate people?

There are currently two paragraphs in the Controversy section. The first paragraph gives a quote from someone named Frank Albrecht, and then an unrelated quote from someone named Wolfram Graf-Rudolf. The second paragraph explains more about the Albrecht quote.

This is quite confusing. Assuming these are two unrelated people, shouldn't one paragraph discuss Albrecht and another paragraph discuss Graf-Rudolf, instead of jumping back and forth between the two? It's even more problematic because the introduction -- featured on Wikipedia's home page today -- implies that "the animal rights activist" might have been misquoted. But there is never any suggestion that Graf-Rudolf was misquoted. In other words, the Controversy section says that the "head" of the Aachen Zoo called for the animal's death, and has never claimed to have been misquoted; this seems more significant than an individual self-identified activist whose quote is disputed.

Finally, is "head of the Aachen Zoo" his actual title? I find that hard to believe.

Sorry to carp on minor details, but a "featured article" should be cleaner than this. — Lawrence King (talk) 02:05, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't think the quotes are unrelated; they have the same sentiment, after all. One comes from an animal activist and one from a director of a German zoo (the source does indeed state "head", but he's in fact the director of the Aachen Zoo), so I feel that both are notable: one for the controversy it caused and the other because of Graf-Rudolf's prominent position. Albrecht's comment was the one that was taken out of context and is therefore the most important part, but there are those who agreed (and continue to agree) with him, so perhaps it would be less confusing for you if this fact were made more explicit with Graf-Rudolf used as an example? María (habla conmigo) 02:15, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
The Graf-Rudolph quote was cited to the Spiegel article, but is not mentioned anywhere in that article. I have therefore removed it. If a real source for that quote can be found, feel free to re-add. Mike R (talk) 20:32, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
I have re-added the info with the real source; I think I just got the two ref-names confused. Thanks for pointing that out, but it would have been less of a hassle for you if you had brought it up here first! Sorry all your work was for naught. María (habla conmigo) 20:35, 4 February 2008 (UTC)
It wasn't too much hassle. At least, I didn't intend for it to have been :-) Mike R (talk) 20:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] hibernation?

The article says something about weight gain in anticipation of hibernation, yet, according to our article on polar bears, polar bears do not hibernate. Can someone who knows please clarify?--24.85.68.231 (talk) 08:17, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

You are correct. The source that was given said nothing about hibernation, it just mentioned that Knut was gaining weight in anticipation of winter not in anticipation of winter hibernation. Someone who did not understand the basics of a polar bear (a bear that can be active during harsh winters) must have interpreted that as hibernation. 128.227.142.107 (talk) 12:52, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] A new contender appears

Flocke is the new Knut. 128.227.171.29 (talk) 18:05, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Why does the section say 'Later Life'

Knut is still a cub (although a very large one.) The section should be renamed 'Recent events' or something like that. Later life makes it sound like he's dead. FinalWish 20:20, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

I hadn't considered that it may imply that he's dead; obviously he's still treated as alive in the prose. Someone had originally named the section "Adulthood" but, like you said, he's still a cub. I don't think "Recent events" is a good replacement, however, because not everything there is "recent" or will continue to be so. If someone has a more acceptable replacement, I'm glad to hear further suggestions. María (habla conmigo) 20:29, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Milk

It doesn't make sense that Knut could have survived on "milk" for the first four months of his life. The milk of a polar bear is about 40% fat. Marine mammal babies in captivity are usually fed a mixture that includes things like cream, fish oil, vitamins, and chopped-up seafood. Can anyone find out what was actually being fed to him? Kla’quot (talk | contribs) 22:16, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

It's referred to simply as "milk" (and the later concoction is referred to as a "milk porridge") by numerous sources. "...pictures of Knut hungrily drinking milk", "...feeds Knut milk six times a day with a bottle", etc. Most media sources weren't too keen about the specifics about this early part of his life. Corn syrup, a secret that has since passed onto Flocke, was used as a supplement to ease digestion, but I'm afraid that's all of the information about possible mixtures of his early milk concoction that I've been able to find. There is a description about his porridge in the article already, however, mostly because I thought it sounded so... tasty. :) María (habla conmigo) 22:42, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
OK. Good news though - I found something[7] and will add it. Cheers, Kla’quot (talk | contribs) 23:36, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
Thanks. María (habla conmigo) 13:46, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Knut going psycho

Sad to see, but perhaps we should put in a sentence or two about his unhappiness at being separated from his "father" and his desire to always be around people. Perhaps those crazy environmentalists were right about not letting them become pets, because the zoo doesn't treat them that way.Judgesurreal777 (talk) 20:08, 26 March 2008 (UTC) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=544849&in_page_id=1811

Saying Knut is "unhappy" and "addicted to fame" is one thing (i.e. unwarranted bear psychoanalysis), but the quotes from one of his keepers is another; it isn't as OR by synthesis on behalf of the media, I think, and although stories such as Knut goes psycho have been circulating for months, I guess it's time it was acknowledged -- not as fact but as common speculation. I'll add a little blurb in. María (habla conmigo) 20:18, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pronunciation

Is the IPA pronunciation on this article correct? According to the following, it is pronounced "Kuh-Noot." (I hate IPA.)

http://www.productwiki.com/home/image/knut-berlin-s-cute-and-cuddly-polar-bear.html

18.172.6.58 (talk) 19:05, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

"Kuh-noot" is correct. To my ears, that's how the IPA tool pronounces it; it's just said quickly with a heavy German accent. :) María (habla conmigo) 19:19, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
Hallo, I'm from Germany and the right pronounciation is "k-noot". The German "u" is always pronounced like English "oo". Furthermore consider that every letter in German has to be pronounced (not like the "k" in "knife"). Could I help you? --139.30.18.236 (talk) 20:05, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
I believe the previous anon user merely wanted to establish that the IP tool is correct, which it is. Thanks! María (habla conmigo) 20:11, 14 April 2008 (UTC)