Lonely Man Leaps Into Polar Bear Cage Because “He Looked Lonely”
by Eric Leech, New York, NY 
on 12.24.08
Photo credit to René Ehrhardt
We all would like to save the polar bear, but this method would seem, well, perhaps a little suicidal. This past Monday at the Berlin Zoo in Germany, police escorted a 37-year-old male off the zoo's property after he was seen leaping over the polar bear exhibit fence and landing into the bears outdoor swimming enclosure.
The man later claimed that he made the leap of faith because he was lonely and Knut, the polar bear in the enclosure, appeared to be lonely too. The man was asked to immediately leave the enclosure after witnesses reported his actions to the zoo's employees, but he ignored all requests. They had no choice but to call the Berlin police and pray the man didn't actually make contact with the bear.
As the 440 pound, 2-year-old Knut (the bear, not the man) looked with interest toward the commotion, zoo employees acted quickly by coaxing him into his indoor exhibit with a juicy leg of beef. The leaper could not have chosen better odds with this particular bear, having been raised exclusively by human hands since being rejected by his mother at birth. Could the man have actually sensed the bears pain from an early childhood rejection, was this his attempt to free the endangered polar bear, or was he just plum off his rocker?
Looking closer at this situation it can be presumed that the German man was probably referring the bear as “lonely” due to the incident of untimely death of Knut's former savior, Thomas Dörflein, just a few short months ago. Compassion is just oozing for these beautiful creatures this time of the year, but as cute and cuddly as they appear, please try to refrain yourselves from attempting to pet one. It's all fun and games until somebody loses an arm!
More on Knut, the polar bear
Knut: A Great Book for Kids
Seven of the Darn Cutest Baby Animal Photos on the Web
Springtime in Berlin
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I'm not quite sure we really get it yet. We engender all this love and affection for these creatures then keep them still penned up like "animals?". I say, let the blighter go. Let him bring comfort to this creature of nature. It will be a lesson not soon forgotten. Instead of showing only how these creatures survive in nature, why not show how they defend themselves against natures cruelest predator. Perhaps then we will leave them alone in their own niche in the environment.
Awww, that shark looks lonely. Let me go up and hug it...
Yeah, the man was suicidal. No doubt in my mind about it.
Darwin Award nominee for certain.
Azhure we are not all tree hippy tree huggers, most humans harldy know the wild at all partly because we are never let off the foot path in case we tread on something. There was never a popular film about killer polar bears attacking someon attractive so who cares! And, like me maybe he was drunk and stubbled into the enclosure sort of accidently. By the way I love you, I want you to have my babies, please!!!!!!