Lonely man jumps into Knut the bear's enclosure

Police in Germany say a lonely man jumped into the Berlin zoo enclosure of famed polar bear Knut to try and make friends with the 440lb predator. Fortunately, officials were able to keep him and the animal apart by distracting Knut with a leg of beef.

The 30-year-old man jumped over a fence into a water-filled ditch at the edge of the bear's enclosure on Monday morning. Police say zoo officials distracted 2-year-old Knut with the meat and lured him into his cage.

Officers led the man away unharmed. Police say he told them that he felt lonely and that Knut also appeared to be lonely - but he did not give the impression of being mentally disturbed.

Knut was hand-raised after his mother rejected him at birth. He rose to stardom early last year as a cute white ball of fluff, but has since grown rapidly into a hulking 440-pound predator.

He currently faces being made homeless, as he has outgrown his enclosure and Berlin zoo cannot afford to build him a new one in these tough economic times.