An earless baby bunny had his 15 minutes of fame in Germany brought to an abrupt end when he was accidentally stepped on by a television cameraman.
The fate of 17-day-old Til, a bunny with a genetic defect and a rising star on Germany's celebrity animal scene, was plastered across German newspapers today, the same day a small zoo in Saxony was to have presented him to the world at a press conference.
The cameraman told Bild newspaper he had not seen Til, who had buried himself in hay, when he took the fateful step backward on Wednesday.
Zoo director Uwe Dempewolf told Spiegel magazine Til did not suffer: "It was a direct hit."
Germany has been home to several global animal celebrities in recent years, including polar bear Knut and Paul the octopus, who was said to have predicted the result of eight matches at the 2010 football World Cup.
AP