Knut the polar bear 'addicted to fame'

Knut has turned into a publicity-addicted psycho bear who must be removed from his adoring public as soon as possible.

That is the verdict of a keeper of the "white wonder", who draws visitors from as far afield as Australia and Siberia every day to his pen at Berlin Zoo.

Markus Roebke, a member of the team who cares for the celebrity bear, has risked his job by speaking out about Knut's mental health.

"Knut must go and the sooner the better," he said, adding he should be put into a zoo or animal park that weans him from his addiction to celebrity.

"We are not allowed to have contact with him anymore and have received letters that if we breach this order our jobs are on the line. He is too unpredictable to play with now.

"He is addicted to the whole show, the human adulation. It is not healthy.

"He actually cries out or whimpers if he sees that there is not a spectator outside his enclosure ready to ooh and aah at him.

"When the zoo had to shut because of black ice everywhere he howled until staff members stood before him and calmed him down."

Knut was one of twins born in December 2006. His brother died shortly after birth and Knut was rejected by his mother.

He rocketed to fame when a radical animal rights group said it would be better for him to die rather than be raised by human hand.

That ensured his celebrity and the fortunes of the zoo, which has earned six million pounds in Knut marketing since his birth.