The Second Coming: Beloved Polar Bear Knut To Go on Display

Feb. 16, 2013— -- He may have died nearly two years ago, but Knut the cuddly polar bear still lives on in the hearts of fans. Now they will be able to see him once again at Berlin's natural history museum.

Berlin's famous late polar bear Knut is making a comeback, though this time he'll be likely to draw fewer oohs and ahhs.

The beloved former resident of the Berlin Zoo, who died tragically two years ago, will be stuffed and put on display at the city's natural history museum.

Fans of the playful ursine star will be able to view the display -- featuring Knut's real fur and glass eyes -- free of charge. But the polar bear's return to the limelight will be brief, lasting from February 16 to March 15.

"Then the dermoplastic will be put into the archive," spokesperson Gesine Steiner told daily Bild on Tuesday.

But those who miss Knut in the next month can see him once again as part of a permanent exhibition that begins in 2014.

The exhibit will not include toys or croissants, Knut's favorite snack, Steiner said. "We are, after all, a scientific establishment," she added.

Born in 2006, Knut became world famous after his mother Tosca rejected him and his brother shortly after birth. While his brother died, Knut was hand-raised by zookeeper Thomas Dörflein, and the two gained global fame. The duo's story took a tragic turn in 2008 when Dörflein died of a heart attack. Then, in March 2011, a brain defect caused Knut to drown in his enclosure. He was four years old.kla -- with wires