Breaking the ice

It seems Knut will benefit from impending renovations to Munich Zoo's polar bear enclosure which will start in mid-September. He'll get to share his home with Gianna, nearly 3 years old, who has to be moved during this time.

Knut fans are hoping Gianna's relocation to Berlin will end a lonely spell for their favorite polar bear, after his caretaker, who bottle fed him as a cub, died unexpectedly of a heart attack last September.

Knut hasn't encountered any other polar bears since he was rejected by his mother at birth. According to the daily paper Tagesspiegel, zoo staff are putting special measures in place to ensure the meeting with Gianna runs smoothly.

A so-called "canoodling fence" will be erected which will allow the bears to become acquainted before they come together in the same enclosure.

But Gianna, named after Italian rock singer Gianna Nannini, has a rocky romantic history. She did not like her previous intended mate, Yoghi, who is 9 years her senior, and was removed to another enclosure where she joined Knut's grandmother, Lisa.

Her trip to Berlin might turn out to be the bear equivalent of a sleep-over though, as Knut still has a couple of years to go before he reaches sexual maturity.

cn/dpa/afp/ots

Editor: Susan Houlton