The UK’s oldest polar bear, and the primary within the nation to provide start to a cub in 25 years, has been put down due to age-related well being issues.
Victoria was 28 and had been saved in Highland Wildlife Park close to Aviemore within the Scottish Highlands since 2015. Vets on the park took the choice to euthanise her on Tuesday morning after an evaluation about her high quality of life and wellbeing. Since December she had been receiving geriatric care after displaying indicators of arthritis.
Victoria initially responded nicely to remedy, however was put to sleep after a deterioration in her well being. Within the wild polar bears hardly ever dwell past the age of 18, however can dwell for longer in captivity.
Debby, believed to be world’s oldest polar bear, died in 2008 aged 41 or 42, after dwelling virtually all of her life in Assiniboine Park zoo in Winnipeg, Canada.
Victoria was born at Rostock zoo in Germany in December 1996 and first gave start in 2008 at Aalborg zoo in Denmark to a feminine named Malik.
In 2015 she was transfer moved to the Highlands park, run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Two years later she gave start to Hamish, who in line with the RZSS, was the first polar cub born within the UK since 1990. In 2021 she gave start to a different cub referred to as Brodie.
David Area, the chief govt of RZSS, stated: “Victoria was an excellent mother and seeing her bring up two big, healthy boys has been a joy for our charity’s dedicated teams and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who have flocked to see the family and learn more about the threats these amazing animals face in the wild.”
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The charity stated Victoria had left an “incredible legacy” by her cubs, who continued to play a vital function within the European breeding programme. It stated the initiative aimed to advertise a genetically various inhabitants of polar bears in captivity.
