Tragic: A post-mortem has revealed that Knut the polar bear died due to a brain problem at a Berlin zooCelebrity polar bear Knut died after an epileptic fit, medics have said.
A CAT scan revealed abnormalities in his brain and neurologists said he may have inherited epilepsy from his father Lars, also a sufferer.
Berlin Zoo confirmed the results of a post-mortem pinpointing the condition that took his life aged just four.
Germany's Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Game Animal Research conducted the autopsy on the world's most famous polar bear who died in his enclosure in the zoo last Saturday.
Trauma: In the deeply harrowing film, spectators' whoops turn to screams as the realisation dawns that Knut's convulsions are not one of his usual playful performancesSome 600 visitors saw him suffer what appeared to be epileptic cramps as he basked in the spring sunshine.
Knut was seen to shake as he made his way into the pool with his left leg trailing. He never got out of the water again.
Weaned on the whirr of video recorders and the flash of cameras, his life was marked with the tragedy that stalks so many Hollywood stars.
Rejected at birth, catapulted to fame, left-broken hearted with the death of his surrogate 'dad,' lonely and tormented by three females in his enclosure meant to normalise him, he finally gave up the will to live on Saturday.
Sorely missed: Tributes, poems, flowers and candles are laid at the gate of Berlin Zoo todayIt was a full house as Knut the show-bear would have wanted it; a crowd of around 600 to 700 spectators enjoying the beautiful spring sunshine of Berlin as it framed the star attraction in his pen.
Suddenly the script went terribly wrong. Knut convulsed on the rock he was basking on. He was still shaking as he went into the water. Then he was still as the screams of children pierced the air.
A toy Knut in among a floral tribute at the entrance to Berlin Zoo last nightAt just four-years-old, he died long before the normal lifespan of between 15 and 20 years for polar bears. But for those who charted his life, it was always going to end in tears.
On Sunday, crowds gathered beside his empty compound, laying down red roses and white stuffed polar bears, lighting candles and putting up pictures of Knut with personal messages for him.
His enclosure at the zoo is now a shrine to his memory. He will be stuffed and put on display in a museum, it was announced today.
source: dailymail
Posts
