14 years with Knutitours / We are family

25.1.2022 – First published in 2010 – Collages by Caren and Mervi

Today Knutitours and this magazine celebrate their 14th (!) anniversary! I’ve been busy writing letters and emails concerning the closing down of the Orsa Predator Center that I had no time to make a new birthday page. Well, I refreshed an ‘oldie’ – it’s the thought that counts. – The best ‘birthday gift’ to Knutitours is your signature in the petition which you find in this column.

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Why make collages when there are hundreds of thousands photos of our beloved bears? I guess the answer is that it’s simply such great fun! Everybody making collages knows that seeing a photo immediately makes you think how you could use it in a collage. Maybe it’s a way to express our feelings?

Here’s a selection of pictures made 2007 – 2010 published earlier as illustrations for stories in Knutitours.

The collages of TD and Knut were made in the summer 2008.

I’m still sad and asking why when I think that our Dream Team isn’t with us any more but looking at these collages makes me remember the happy days and I can smile again. I hope you can do the same.

The Dream Team – always in our hearts

Of course, Knut is very interested in sports and he’s always supporting his team.

– Hey, this thing is too heavy! I certainly need more calories!! Sylvia, Marcus, Ronny – where’s my dinner?????

My enclosure must be clean and tidy!

This is for all the besserwissers and yellow papers!

A new era began when Fräulein Flocke entered Knuti’s life. I guess it was Teddybärenmutti who first informed us about her motto: THINK PINK. What fun it was (and still is!) to read Mutti’s stories!

A romantic dinner for two

Flocke is a bear lady filled with energy and great ambitions. There was a time when she wanted to be a ballerina or should I say a flockerina? Maybe she gave up that career because it’s not so easy to dance ballet carrying a handbag…..

Baking croissants for Knuti

On a Halloween tour – Trick or Croissant!

Knut and Flocke wanted to make some changes in the enclosure and decided to do the job themselves.

Again something happened…. Rasputin aka Raspi came to Nuremberg from Moscow and we had to accept that Knut and Flocke weren’t meant to be a couple.

Two great philosophers

However, everybody soon fell in love with the charming Russian bear and the three bears became good friends.

Knuti, Flocke and Raspi spent their vacation together in the Alps.Don’t they look cute?

A girl needs her beauty nap.Flocke soon realized Raspi could do much more than just entertain. Well, we all know how hard it is to find a good cleaning aid!

– Raspi, I think you should have undies while wearing the kilt!

Raspi’s night cap(s)

The knuditcard with unlimited amount of money on the account has given our bears possibility to travel a lot. Today I wish we all had unlimited Knuditcards so we could buy the Orsa Predator Center!

I think this photo was taken during their vacation in Trinidad & Tobago.

Venice is, of course, a must even for polar bears…..

Talking about Italy ….. in the Autumn 2009 again something BIG happened. Signorina Giovanna from Hellabrunn, Munich came to Berlin to live with Knuti while her enclosure was rebuild.