Cute Knut

You've probably heard of Berlin's famous Knut, who is indeed becoming Germany's favorite furry celebrity. Hamburg's zoo just delivered an elephant, but she needs a better publicist (or at least a name) because she is getting upstaged! On the other hand, who can compete with this:

This Slate article about Knut is a good read, suggesting that baby elephant simply can't compete with baby bears. Drawing parallels between the public reception to Washington's panda, Tai Shan, the article looks beyond the cuddly faces and talks about why we can get so fascinated by these creatures (and why some people are calling for Knut's death). It's not exactly warm and fuzzy, but it will make you think.