It’s Knut fair: German zoo suing for polar bear profits

A custody battle is raging over Germany’s celebrity polar bear Knut, between the zoo that legally owns him and the zoo that has hand-reared him from birth.

(Picture of Knut by Reuters via Der Seigel)

Berlin Zoo may have reaped an estimated 10 million euros, according to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, in increased visitor attendance and merchandising, since the cub hit the headlines in 2007 as an orphan that was rescued by keepers.

Now the legal owners, Neumunster zoo, are demanding a share of the profits, or else they want Knut back.

The zoo first wants to know exactly how much the crowd-pulling bear has made for the Berlin Zoo, a spokeswoman for the Berlin regional court told AFP. “The second stage could be a demand for payment,” she said.

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has reported that Neumunster has asked for 700,000 euros for an outright purchase, but Berlin has countered with half the amount, the standard price for a polar bear according to the court spokeswoman.

Knut was born in Berlin zoo after his father was loaned out by Neumunster in a breeding deal that gave the latter ownership to the first born cub.

Ironically, Knut, and the Berlin zoo’s, success began after the cub was rejected by his mother and his life was endangered. Zoo staff intervened in a controversial move that angered conservationists who said he should be left to die. He had a twin brother who was also rejected and didn’t survive.

“If truth be told, the zoo should have killed the baby bear,” one campaigner was quoted by the BBC as saying.

But photogenic Knut quickly became an animal celebrity, attracting thousands of fans and lucrative deals including documentaries and fashion shoots. He has inspired an array of merchandising including cuddly toys, jigsaws, mobile phone ring tones, windscreen cleaners and books.

His early development has been avidly followed in the media including high-brow publications such as Der Spiegel, who reported in 2007 that his equally famous keeper, Thomas Dorflein, was having problems adjusting after he had been ordered to cut down on contact with the growing cub.

44-year-old Dorflein, who nursed the polar bear cub in his most helpless days, died of a heart-attack last September.

Last year the magazine reported that Knut was pining for human companionship during an enforced period of weaning-off people. “He has become so used to the attention of people that he cries when no one is standing in front of his enclosure watching him,” Der Spiegel reported.

Knut has also been seen mimicking tourists taking photos, according to AFP.

Last month a woman jumped into the polar bear enclosure to try to make contact with Knut, the Guardian reported. She was seriously injured after another bear attacked her.

Now the Berlin court has ordered the feuding zoos to settle their dispute by June 13, if they want to avoid legal intervention.

Berlin zoo director Bernhard Blaskiewitz had hoped to settle the matter with Neumunster a lot earlier, “give them a few penguins and let that be an end to it,” he said.