Berlin Zoo's polar bear Knut is sick

[brentspeak]

Poor guy. Get better.

(AP) BERLIN - The Berlin Zoo's popular polar bear cub, Knut, is not feeling well and had his daily public appearance in front of thousands of visitors cut short Monday after only 30 minutes.

The zoo's veterinarian, Andre Schuele, put the 4 1/2-month old cub on antibiotics and said the Knut is "off stage to get some rest while we watch him closely."

"At the moment he is resting on his blanket and sleeping," Schuele said, adding that despite his lethargy Knut did eat his regular meal in the morning.

Later Monday, Schuele told the Associated Press he examined the cub and said Knut is probably not feeling well because he is teething.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070416/ap_on_re_eu/germany_polar_bear

[InvisibleTouch]

1. It's a good sign that he's eating.

Teething shouldn't make a cub lethargic. Quite the opposite, they often become more irritable and squirrly. If a baby is rejected by the mother and has to be bottle-fed, he doesn't get the colostrum that has all the protective antibodies, and that can make him susceptible to disease later on. You can buy formulas that include colostrum, but I imagine the polar bear version is kinda hard to come by. Here's sending him lots of good vibes!