OMG PHEAR TEH KNUT

Knut is a little baby polar bear in Berlin. He was abandoned by his mother, but has been hand-reared by zookeepers. He was recently deemed big enough to be allowed outside where the public can see him. BBC report. Der Spiegel report.

When Knut grows up he will weigh nearly a tonne and be very fierce.

Icebear Knut To Write Book

It says here: Celebrity polar bear Knut gets book deal

Some might be sceptical of Knut's ability to write a whole book all on his own, but he is already publishing a blog: Knuts Blog

Sad News From Germany

Some of you may remember Eisbärbaby Knut, the polar bear from Berlin Zoo who had to be hand-reared after his mother rejected him. Some of you may also remember Thomas Dörflein, the zoo keeper who looked after Knut and used to play with him until he got too big and dangerous.

The Guardian reported today that Thomas Dörflein has died; he had been ill for some time. It has already been reported that Knut himself is not in the best of shape. Although now too big to have in the company of people, he is still of an age where in the wild his mother would look after him, so he is on his own and is apparently a sad little bear.

You would really have to wonder about the wisdom of keeping polar bears in zoos. In the wild, polar bears have massive ranges, happily travelling hundreds of miles over the summer hunting season. That the constraints they find themselves in in zoos lead to them going mad and neglecting their young should perhaps not be too surprising. I remember hearing anecdotally that when Dublin Zoo had polar bears, the mothers used to eat their babies, while in Germany another baby polar bear was abandoned by its mother earlier this year.

There have been reports (1, 2) that Berlin Zoo (among others) has been over-breeding cute baby animals to keep visitor numbers up, and then quietly exterminating older and less appealing specimens. If true, these allegations are disturbing, and they challenge the whole idea that zoos serve any kind of useful function.

Thomas Dörflein is succeeded by his partner and three children.

A Big Bear

Icebear Knut is now a year old. He is a very big bear now.

Here he is today. And here he is when he first appeared in public.

Knut found time to blog about his birthday.

Picture from the BBC. Knut's surprisingly dark looks come from his fondness for rolling in mud.

HI DERE I UPDAT LINKS

I have updated my links to other blogs and deleted links to ones that do not pass muster, as part of my commitment to bring YOU only the very greatest of the world's other blogs. Just in case you are reading this out in blog aggregator land, and thus never actually see Inuit Bikini Scarlet Carwash in all its true glory, I now present you with a list of all the other blogs to which I currently link, and a brief description of each.

:-) means they link to me
:-| means they do not link to anyone
:-( means they link to other people but not to me

LiveJournal Syndication of Inuit Bikini Scarlet Carwash :-)
This is a Live Journal feed of this blog; handy for people who only read things in LiveJournal.

Hunting Monsters :-)
My incredibly interesting other blog.

The Dublin School of International Relations :-)
This is a Spy School group blog. Everyone who writes for it has at least one other blog. This explains its lack of updates.

Extracts of Thought :-)
First blog to ever link to me, hence its appearance in pole position here. Extracts of Thought is written by Idleberry, whom I know from the Internet.

Accentmonkey Is Ainm Dom :-)
Accentmonkey is an old friend from college and a member of Frank's APA.

Percy's Depressed :-)
This is written by Queenie, an OFFC and a member of Frank's APA.

The John Heron Project :-)
This is a group blog written by people who include Wood, a member of Frank's APA and someone I know from the Internet.

Sunshine Pop :-)
I know Sharon from the Internet. She is one of those knitters.

Optimuscrime London :-)
Another person from the Internet. He needs to update more often.

Andrew Sherman's blog :-)
Andrew Sherman is from Chester, though he does not live there.

Conceits :-|
Mr Henry the Cow is a member of Frank's APA.

Carsmile Steve :-|
Carsmile Steve is a former member of Frank's APA. I know him originally from the Internet.

Thinking Outside the Helicopter :-|
Leedy is an OFFC.

Per Stratagem Ad Gaudium :-)
Ammonite is a special OFFC.

Fattening Frogs For Snakes :-)
Paul is a member of Frank's APA and a fellow student in Spy School.

Persis Khambatta Skiing In The Negev :-)
Kealo is a member of Frank's APA and a fellow student in Spy School.

Click Opera :-|
I know Momus primarily through the Internet, even though he does not write for it anymore. You might know him through the many records of selective appeal he has released. Of all the blogs I link to, Click Opera is one of the very few that I actually recommend.

Chris Gilmour's Diary :-(
I know Mr Chris Gilmour from the Internet. This is somewhat ironic, as he has been banned from there for some time now.

Doklands :-|
Dok is a former member of Frank's APA. This is one of those MP3 blogs.

This ain't KFC, baby :-|
I have been linking to this blog under false pretences, for reasons that are not entirely clear to me. The blog seems not uninteresting, but unless I discover who this person is it will probably be disappearing to the hell that is my Bloglines listing

Popular :-|
Former member of Frank's APA and the Internet is working his way through every British number one single ever.

Old Style Rabbit Tales Of Furry Fury :-(
SebCatLitter is a member of Frank's APA. Joana is not.

PopJustice :-|
This is a blog about pop music… you know, that stuff young people like.

John Moore :-|
John Moore used to be in Black Box Recorder and the Jesus And Mary Chain. He is currently pursuing a number of projects.

Rowan Tree and Red Thread :-|
Myles Corcoran is an OFFC.

Press '1' to Bun Dem :-|
I know whatever the writer of this blog is currently calling himself through OFFCs.

Knut's blog :-|
Knut is a polar bear who lives in the Berlin zoo.

From the Heart of Europe :-(
NHW is the brother of an OFFC. He lives in Brussels and does important things (like watching a lot of Doctor Who).

Cope :-(
James Wallis founded Frank's APA, but is no longer a member of it.

Undersea Community :-)
This is another one of those MP3 blogs, this time by OFFC JMason23 and others.

Masonic Boom :-|
I know Masonic Boom from the Internet.

Meehawl – all that is solid melts into air :-|
I know Meehawl through OFFCs. If you are interested in Female Clown Bathtup Shark Porn then his blog is a must.

Living the Rainbow Nation :-(
I know Riona from Spy School. She is on a field placement in South Africa.

It has taken me an age to compile this. The lesson – that I link to too many blogs.