Class 46 readers will by now have heard of the sad and untimely death of polar bear Knut last Sunday at the Berlin Zoo.

Regular Class 46 readers will perhaps recall Knut's rise to global fame and the various trade mark issues surrounding the marketing of Knut and other high profile (polar) bears. To refresh your memory, please click here and here. 

Knut's short life was not an easy one: born in the Berlin Zoo at the end of 2006, Knut had to be hand-reared by his keeper Thomas but became a global celebrity after being rescued when his mother rejected him.  Knut became so famous that he even made it on the covers of the US and German editions of Vanity Fair.  He was also the German government's mascot for its climate change campaign and even inspired Class 46 logo. 

While the reason for Knut's death has not yet been ascertained, early reports suggest that he suffered from a brain disease.  The (German) media now discusses what the BBC fittingly describes as the "ethical minefield of man's relationship with wild animals".  Looking back at Knut's life, it does however not come as much of a surprise to learn that his death was not the last chapter in the Knut marketing saga.  German tabloid Bild has this evening reported that Knut is to be stuffed and put on display so fans can pay their respects.  To this member of Class 46, Knut's short life very much appears to be a fable of our times.

Thanks go to Sarah Walker who took the above photograph of Knut.