Victoria, UK’s oldest polar undergo, put down after well being issues

The UK’s oldest polar undergo, and the primary within the nation to present delivery to a cub in 25 years, has been put down on account of age-related well being issues.

Victoria was once 28 and have been stored in Highland Wildlife Park close to Aviemore within the Scottish Highlands since 2015. Vets on the park took the verdict to euthanise her on Tuesday morning after an evaluation about her high quality of lifestyles and wellbeing. Since December she have been receiving geriatric care after appearing indicators of arthritis.

Victoria to begin with replied smartly to drugs, however was once put to sleep after a deterioration in her well being. In the wild polar bears hardly ever reside past the age of 18, however can reside for longer in captivity.

Debby, believed to be international’s oldest polar undergo, died in 2008 elderly 41 or 42, after dwelling nearly all of her lifestyles in Assiniboine Park zoo in Winnipeg, Canada.

Victoria was once born at Rostock zoo in Germany in December 1996 and primary gave delivery in 2008 at Aalborg zoo in Denmark to a feminine named Malik.

In 2015 she was once transfer moved to the Highlands park, run via the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Two years later she gave delivery to Hamish, who in line with the RZSS, was once the first polar cub born in the United Kingdom since 1990. In 2021 she gave delivery to some other cub known as Brodie.

David Field, the executive 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.”

The charity stated Victoria had left an “incredible legacy” thru her cubs, who persisted to play an crucial function within the European breeding programme. It stated the initiative aimed to advertise a genetically various inhabitants of polar bears in captivity.