Polar Bear Love
Knut's First Date Starts with a Whack to the Face
Berlin's star polar bear Knut met another polar bear for the first time on Tuesday. And aside from an initial round-house delivered by the visiting Gianna, zookeepers pronounced the date a success.
The first date: Celebrity polar bear Knut (R) and his Italian girlfriend Gianna (L) met for the first time on Tuesday.
Foto: ddp
He was a hard-playing polar bear from Berlin. She was an Italian supermodel. He knew he would have just one chance to impress her.
And on Tuesday, it looks as though Knut did. Zookeepers in Berlin pronounced the first date between Berlin's polar bear star and Gianna, a three-year-old originally from Italy but now on loan to Berlin from the Munich zoo, a success.
Indeed, aside from Knut suffering an initial whack upside the head, the meetings -- one in the morning and another in the early afternoon -- were remarkably peaceful.
Foto: ddp
Fotostrecke
Photo Gallery: Knut's First Date
"It was as we expected it to be," zookeeper Heiner Klös said. "Knut was very shy and the Munich bear was clearly the one wearing the dirndl."
The Tuesday rendezvous marked the first time Knut had ever come into contact with another polar bear. Klös said that Knut was "completely surprised and astounded" when he first saw Gianna -- also called Giovanna -- tromping around in his enclosure. Zookeepers plan to increase the amount of time the two spend together with the eventual goal of having Gianna, whose Munich enclosure is currently being renovated, move in for nine months.
No Little Knuts Yet
Given the bears' ages -- Knut is also going on three -- there is little chance of anything more than a platonic friendship developing out of the liaison. Neither bear has yet reached sexual maturity. And it remains to be seen whether Gianna will take to Knut. She disliked her first intended mate in Munich so intensely that she had to be placed in a separate enclosure -- with Knut's grandmother.
Knut and Gianna have been kept in close proximity to each other since the beginning of September so they could get accustomed to each other's smells and recent days have seen Gianna, named after the Italian pop singer Gianna Nannini, romping alone in Knut's enclosure. Still, a team of zookeepers was on hand Tuesday morning to intervene should the meeting turn violent. Concern was heightened by a Saturday incident in Stralsund when a brown bear suddenly attacked and killed his female mate.
Becoming a Bear
Should Gianna and Knut become close pals, it could mark the end of a long period of loneliness for Berlin's ursine star. After his birth in late 2006, Knut was rejected by his mother and raised by hand, with much of the work falling to zookeeper Thomas Dörflein. But Knut's best friend died suddenly last September.
Now, however, Dörflein's vision for Knut's future is becoming reality. Shortly before he died, Dörflein said "Knut should be weaned from his close contact with humans. He should become a bear."
Knut, on the right, had his first date on Tuesday when the polar bear Gianna joined him in his enclosure.
Foto: ddp
2 / 8
Knut was shy at first, but the two eventually approached one another. It was not, however, love at first sight. Gianna whacked Knut upside the head before things settled down.
Foto: DPA
3 / 8
In the days prior to their Tuesday meeting, Gianna, also known as Giovanna, spent some time getting used to Knut's enclosure. Here, she jumps into the algae covered moat.
Foto: Maya Hitij/ AP
4 / 8
Gianna will be staying with Knut for nine months while her enclosure in Munich is being renovated. She is originally from Italy.
Foto: Herbert Knosowski/ AP
5 / 8
Gianna had quite some fun getting used to Knut's enclosure. She, like Knut, is just shy of her third birthday, meaning that the relationship will remain platonic for the time being. The two have not yet reached sexual maturity.
Foto: A3464 Rainer Jensen/ dpa
6 / 8
Knut will be glad for the company. His best friend, zookeeper Thomas Dörflein, who raised him as a baby after Knut's mother rejected him, died unexpectedly last September. Here, Knut in his enclosure behind flowers placed there on the anniversary of Dörflein's death.
Foto: ddp
7 / 8
Knut is still a fan favorite at the Berlin zoo and has received close to 10 million visitors since he was first presented to the public in early 2007.
