From the Fringe | 21.02.2008
Just Like Britney: Berlin's Knut at the Center of Custody Battle
It's a story as old as show business: once you've reached the heights of stardom, long-lost relatives, former business associates and ex-lovers surface to claim their piece of the pie. Even if you're a polar bear.
Knut has been sunning in the limelight for over a year now, ever since the polar bear cub was shunned by his mother and found a surrogate in his human keeper in the Berlin Zoo.
The no-longer so white or fluffy creature has also been a boon to the institution, drawing crowds of children and adults including A- and B-list celebrities. Thanks to Knut, ticket sales increased by 4.2 million euros ($6.2 million) and franchising brought in an additional 750,000 euros, the zoo announced on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Even US celebrity Paris Hilton fell for Knut -- or the stuffed version of him, at least
And, just as we've learned to expect from the pages of our favorite tabloids, a family member has shown up to claim his right to share Knut's fortune.
A provincial zoo north of Hamburg has spoken up on behalf of Knut's father, Lars. Though he's thought to have never even gotten a glimpse of his offspring, Lars sired the cub during a date with his mother Tosca, and now Neumuenster zoo chief Peter Druewa says Knut belongs to them.
Druewa said a contract signed by the two zoos specified that the first of every two litters belonged to his institution, according to German news agency DPA. The society that runs the small zoo planned to vote in mid-March on whether to file suit against the Berliners and claim Knut -- and his fortune -- as their own.
So far, Berlin Zoo chief Bernhard Blaszkiewitz has declined to comment.
