International superstar Knut the Polar Bear died suddenly on Saturday at age 4 at the Berlin Zoo. “It was a completely normal day: He was with the female bears before, who had just been shut away,” bear keeper Heiner Kloes said. “Then, Knut strolled around the enclosure, went into the water, had a short spasm and died.” The polar bear rose to global fame after he was rejected by his mother when he was born in captivity in 2006, and he was raised by zookeepers, nearly doubling the Berlin Zoo’s daily attendance. Knut appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair with Leonardo DiCaprio in 2007, but ultimately even fame couldn’t replace his mother’s love. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit called Knut’s death “awful,” and fans have gathered at the zoo to mourn. [AP via Yahoo]
