Berlin's famous polar bear found dead

BERLIN -- Berlin's beloved polar bear Knut, an international star who as a cuddly, fluffy cub graced magazine covers, movies and merchandise, died yesterday. His death at the young age of 4 took zookeepers and animal experts by surprise.

The celebrity bear died suddenly in his compound at the Berlin Zoo, bear keeper Heiner Kloes told The Associated Press. He waded into the water in his enclosure before having a short spasm and then dying in front of hundreds of zoo visitors.

A postmortem will be conducted Monday to try to pinpoint the cause of death, Kloes said.

Rejected by his mother at birth on Dec. 5, 2006, along with his twin brother, who only survived a couple of days, Knut first attracted attention when his main caregiver, Thomas Doerflein, camped out at the zoo to give the button-eyed cub his bottle every two hours. Doerflein cuddled and played with him at daily public appearances to the delight of thousands of people who came to watch.

Fan clubs sprung up across the globe, including in Japan, the United States and Germany. Fans followed his every move, including his weight battle -- he had a weakness for croissants.

"Knutmania" led to a 2007 Vanity Fair cover with actor Leonardo DiCaprio shot by photographer Annie Leibovitz, a film and plush likenesses. No longer a cub, Knut grew rapidly, weighing a hulking 440-pounds by age 2, and trading in white fluff for yellowish fur. Doerflein, the zookeeper who raised him, died in 2008 of a heart attack, earning front page headlines in German newspaper as "Knut's daddy."

Between 600 and 700 people were at his compound when Knut died, zoo officials said. One visitor said she watched Knut lying on the surface of the water motionless with only his back showing for 10 minutes until zookeepers came and fenced off the compound.

Some said they feared Knut had died from all the stress that stardom brings.

-- AP