Some nut from China created a porcelain model of “superstar” polar bear Knut of the Berlin Zoo. To put it mildly, the popularity of this polar bear is a wee bit disturbing.

Obviously, Knut is one of the cutest things we’ve ever seen, but one must realize that a the bear’s ego is soaring to stratospheric heights. Last week, Knut even gotten a death threat:

The fax, which the zoo received on Wednesday read, “Knut is dead. Thursday noon.”

A spokeswoman for the zoo said a regular group of security guards watch over the celebrity cub, but declined to elaborate other than to say the fax wouldn’t change his schedule.

“Our two daily public viewings of Knut will not be canceled because of the death fax,” zoo spokeswoman Vivian Kreft said.

Yep, daily viewings mean money, and pimping Knut out does wonders for the Berlin Zoo. He attracts thousands of daily visitors (up to 15,000), and has been featured on the cover of Vanity Fair, an achievement for which starlets sell their loved ones’ souls. At this rate, diva behavior is almost a certainty . . .