Knut forgotten: Germany’s beloved polar bear Knut lives on as real-pelt replica
The world’s most famous polar bear Knut eats his birthday cake on his fourth birthday in his snow-covered enclosure at the Tiergarten zoo in Berlin, on Dec. 5, 2010 in Berlin.
A German museum is trying to bring the nation's favorite baby polar bear Knut back to life, with a real-pelt sculpture of the beloved cub set to unveil in Berlin this week, according to Britain's Daily Mail.
But officials at the Natural History Museum seemed a bit anxious about how the new Knut would be received. "It's important to make clear we haven't had Knut stuffed," Germany's The Local cited museum spokeswoman Gesine Steiner as telling the daily newspaper Bild on Tuesday, adding: "It's an artistically valuable sculpture with the original fur."
Knut died after suffering a brain aneurism and drowning in his Berlin Zoo pool in March 2011, said the Daily Mail.
The Knut replica will be on display for four weeks starting on Saturday, said The Local, and will not appear again until a 2014 exhibit. The museum expects such crowds that they've already designated a special Knut-only entrance.
Hilariously, the Local advised that any Knut lovers who might be "creeped out by seeing him skinned," can instead "head to the Berlin Zoo, which unveiled a cute bronze memorial to him in October 2012."