A much loved polar bear cub called Fritz - who was named after a worldwide competition drew 10,000 entries - has died.

The four-month-old, born at a Berlin zoo in November, died of complications from liver inflammation.

He was separated from his mother, Tonja, on Monday so vets could carry out tests after he fell ill over the weekend.

However, they were unable to find the cause of the problem and Fritz died later the same day.

The baby polar bear was filmed in January as staff at the zoo appealed for help naming him

Andreas Knieriem, director at the city's Tierpark zoo, said staff were "devastated".


"We're speechless, saddened and depressed," he said.

"It's incredible how fond we had become of that little polar bear."

Fritz had a twin who died shortly after birth.

It is a similar story to that of Knut, Berlin's other famous polar bear, who survived against the odds when he was rejected by his mother at birth.

He was reared by keepers but died in 2011 after also falling ill.