Knut the Polar Bear Died by Drowning

[OhioChick]

Friday April 01, 2011 10:05 AM EDT

Nearly two weeks after the sudden death of Knut the polar bear on March 19, the final necropsy results were made public: Knut, who walked in circles before seizing up and falling into the water in his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo, drowned.

While drowning was the immediate cause of death, experts who examined his body concluded that the underlying cause was encephalitis, or a swelling of the brain brought on by an infection.

The nature of the infection is unclear, explained Claudia Szentiks, the pathologist who led Knut's examination, although it was probably caused by a virus. Other possible causes such as rabies, botulism and a prion infection (i.e., mad cow disease) were ruled out.

According to reports, Knut carried the infection for quite a while, and it was so severe that it likely would have killed the bear eventually.

More: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20478375,00.html

Aww...Poor little guy. :(

[sasha031]

1. the poor thing, he must of been in such pain

:-(

[localroger]

2. Probably not

He was probably confused and groggy a lot, and it sounds like he just fell unconscious in the water and breathing water in that state finally did him in. But brain diseases don't generally cause pain. I had a nice bout with West Nile once, which is a form of encephalitis, and all that happened was I slept for 48 hours straight. Had I been trying to stay awake in an enclosure with a pool in that state, though, I might have ended up like poor Knut.

[lunatica]

3. The article says he acted quite normal until it happened.