Zoo gets polar bear cub death threat

BERLIN, April 19 (UPI) -- The Berlin Zoo has received a death threat against the international celebrity polar bear cub named Knut, whose mother abandoned him at birth.

The Sun of London reported Thursday that the zoo received a fax on Wednesday that said: "Knut dead. Thursday noon." Police were called immediately and the little bear's enclosure was thoroughly searched.

While zoo staff was more vigilant Wednesday and Thursday morning, police spokesman Michael Maass denied Knut was under police guard.

However, extra police were sent to the zoo in the afternoon as German President Horst Koehler opened a new exhibit, the report said.

As many as 15,000 people line up to see Knut in two viewings each day. The bear has appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, and has his own blog and a television show documenting his mother's rejection and hand-rearing by zookeepers.