Zoos in Battle Over Knut the Polar Bear's Riches

He was the polar bear cub lauded the world over, who provoked fierce debate on animal rights, appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine at the height of his fame, and has latterly been diagnosed as being addicted to human laughter and applause.

However, the latest twist in the Knut saga is, not surprisingly, centered around money ? and precisely who has the rights to the Knut goldmine.

A legal battle between two zoos has begun in Berlin, with the Neumuenster zoo in northern Germany claiming it is due a slice of the Knut millions because the polar bear's father, Lars, resides there and, as such, it is the legal owner of Lars's first offspring.

Knut himself lives in Berlin zoo, where he is thought to have been the cause of a €5m (?4m) increase in revenue last year. Visitor numbers rose by 30%, making it the most successful year in the zoo's 163-year history.

Neumuenster zoo says that when the polar bear cub was born in 2006 a deal was made with the Berlin zoo over the issue.

However, while Berlin zoo says it recognizes Neumuenster's ownership in principle, it maintains that does not give the zoo a right to any proceeds from Knut's incredible popularity.

Peter Druewa, the zoo director at Neumuenster, said in a statement that his zoo had tried to negotiate with Berlin zoo but was now looking to a court in Berlin for a ruling on the matter.

''We do not want to remove Knut from his environment,'' he said. ''But we have a right to our request for money.''

Knut won over the hearts and minds of Germans and went on to attract worldwide popularity after he was rejected by his mother, Tosca, soon after birth. A debate began about intervening to keep him alive

Zookeepers pulled him from a rock in the enclosure with an extended fishing net before placing him in an incubator to help him survive.

He was then raised and cared for by zookeeper Thomas Dorflein.However, as he got larger and more dangerous, the detrimental impact of the large amount of human contact throughout his life, along with his daily shows put on at the zoo, began to surface.

Most recently came the reports that Knut was addicted to human attention.

In March this year, Markus R?bke, one of the keepers who helped rear Knut, told Bild the bear had become so used to attention that he cried when there was no one near his enclosure. "Knut needs an audience," R?bke stated. "That has to change."

Since then efforts have been made for the polar bear to live a more independent existence.