To mark the passing of Knut, the Berlin Zoo polar bear (2006-11), here’s a eulogy to one of his predecessors, the London Zoo polar bear Sam, who was, as an intertitle bluntly puts it, “shot at Dawn to end his infirmities” after 24 years as one of the zoo’s most popular attractions. This Topical Budget newsreel isn’t so indelicate as to show the actual death – instead, it shows assorted animals and children reacting to the news. (Michael Brooke)

You can read more about the Topical Budget silent newsreel series at http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/583128/index.html