Least of all Knut's mother, a retired circus animal who rejected Knut and his twin brother (who subsequently died of a fungal infection) after giving birth Dec. 5. As Knut faced almost certain death without his mom's milk, Dörflein moved in with the cub to administer bottle feedings. While some animal rights activists protested Knut's forced dependence on humans, the rest of the world rallied around him. Why is everyone nuts for Knut? Peter Walschburger, a biopsychology professor at Berlin's Free University, told reporters that Knut's "childlike characteristics" instinctively drive fans to nurture him. None more than Dörflein, who says he isn't bothered by the frenzy, though it leaves him with "zero private life at the moment." Knut, no doubt, can sympathize.
- Contributors:
- Reported by Karen Nickel Anhalt/Berlin.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
