Assiniboine Park Zoo Oldest living Polar Bear

K

KrissyR

Well-Known Member
Debbie, the oldest living Polar bear in captivity, hasn't been feeling very good lately. Earlier this week Zoo officials issued a press release on her condition so that people could get a heads up on how she is.

Here is a link to one of the better articles Winnipeg zoo's polar bear, world's oldest, dying: officials - Yahoo! Canada News

Here is a picture I took of her yesterday
080308Debbie2.jpg
 
Thanks for posting the link and photo, KrissyR.
I'd heard about Debby for some time, and finally got to see her in 2002 when I visited the zoo in Winnipeg. She will surely be missed when she dies, although it is nice to see the zoo acknowledging that the current exhibit (a typical bear grotto) is not up to snuff.
 
They have known for years about the exhibit being unsuitable but due to Debbie's (she was named after a former employee's wife apparently) advanced age did not change it for fear of stressing her.

A little known fact is that the standards that disqualify this exhibit from getting another bear were actually written up and designed by the Assiniboine Park Zoo Forman and the Curator. They were submitted and accepted as the standards for which any exhibit that will house a Polar Bear from Manitoba must meet.
 
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