(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Singapore Zoo onWednesday put down its last resident polar bear, Inuka, on "humane and welfare grounds."
"With a heavy heart, we bade farewell to our beloved senior polar bear Inuka this morning," said Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which runs the zoo, in a post on its official Facebook page on Wednesday morning.
The decision came after a medical exam showed that despite intensive medical treatment and close monitoring over the last month, the bear's health was deteriorating swiftly.
"Despite the best efforts of his care team, Inuka's condition worsened and the difficult but necessary decision not to revive him from anesthesia was made on humane grounds," the zoo said.
Inuka was sufferingarthritis, dental issues, occasional ear-infections andage-related general muscle atrophy, according to astatement by the zoo earlier this month.
Thebear, born in 1990,was the first of its kind to be born in captivity in the tropical country.
At 27 years old, Inukafar outlivedhis wild compatriots, which have a life expectancy of between 15 and 18years.
Inuka's death closes a chapter for the Singapore Zoo, following a decisionbyWRS in 2006to no longer import polar bears after internal consultations emphasised the need to "focus on featuring tropical wildlife and threatened Southeast Asian species".
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