Remember Knut The Polar Bear?? A Sad Up-date About Him

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No, don't worry, Knut the cute cuddly polar bear that drew world wide attention isn't dead or anything like that, but according to Berlin Zoo officials his "mental" health has deteriorated. I heard this on the news last night and decided to find out any articles about him. Anyway if you remember, Knut's mother "abandoned" him shortly after birth and he was instead hand-raised by some of the caring people at the Berlin Zoo. He was probably one of the most photographed infant polar bears and everyone fell in love with this cute cuddly orphaned polar bear. Well now he's grown up and according to zoo officials he is so used to humans and being center of attention still, that he no longer acts like a polar bear anymore and will actually "cry" if no humans are around him, whether zoo keepers or his "audience." Here's an article about Knut (Quote) ..."BERLIN — Knut the polar bear has turned from a cuddly cub into a publicity-addicted psycho, one of his keepers has claimed. Markus Roebke said Berlin Zoo's celebrity animal was obsessed with the limelight and howled with rage when denied an audience."Knut must go and the sooner the better," he said, insisting that the bear should be sent to an animal park where he received less attention"He is addicted to the whole show, the human adulation. It is not healthy."He actually cries out or whimpers if he sees that there is not a spectator outside his enclosure ready to ooh and aah at him."When the zoo had to shut because of black ice everywhere he howled until staff members stood before him and calmed him down." Knut was rejected by his mother after he was born in December 2006, prompting some animal activists to say it would be better for him to die than to be weaned by man. The zoo let him live however and he has become a major attraction, pulling in millions of dollars in revenue so far. Now Knut is bigger, the crowds are larger - and, his keeper warns, his mental health is deteriorating Mr Roebke added: "The trouble is that he identifies himself as a human and not as a polar bear."And as long as he is with us he will always think of Thomas Doerflein, the keeper who brought him up when he was a baby, as his father. Knut needs publicity and that must change..." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342100,00.html What are your feelings about this?? Do you think its a statement that instead of helping animals exist free from being killed off or hunted down in the wild that zoos create more problems for animals in their care?