Knut the Polar Bear was born in Berlin’s Zoological Garden, where he also died after only five years. He drowned before the eyes of zoo visitors. Later, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Reseach (IZW) determined that encephalitis was the cause of death. The polar bear was mounted by taxidermists at the Museum für Naturkunde and has been part of the exhibition "Masterpieces of Taxidermy" since July 2014.