An animal rights group has sharply criticised Berlin's zoo, saying that the way polar bear Knut was raised and held in captivity could have led to his death at such a young age.
The four-year-old bear collapsed and died in his enclosure in front of a 600-strong crowd of visitors at Berlin zoo on Saturday. Witnesses said he suffered convulsions and appeared to have had an epileptic fit or a heart attack.
Wolfgang Apel, the head of Germany's Animal Protection Association, said although polar bears were essentially loners, Knut had been obliged to live with female bears because the zoo wanted him to mate.
Knut was born in 2006 to a female bear who rejected him at birth. He was hand-raised by his keeper at Berlin zoo.
He earned Berlin zoo about €5m (£4m). -
Belfast Telegraph