Debbie-Oldest Polar Bear Dying
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Debbie, who this year was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest bear, is in ill health. Officials at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg say she is showing signs of “advanced aging” and don’t expect her to live much longer.
Debbie, who is 41 years and 8 months old, came to the zoo in 1967 as a cub. She has since become the most popular animal at the zoo with over 18 million visitors recorded.
Here are a couple of pictures of Debbie:
Due to the conditions of the polar bear enclosure at the zoo, no replacement for Debbie is foreseen in the near future. Polar Bears International (PBI) who has wanted to build an interactive polar-bear facility at Assiniboine Park Zoo, wants to help raise the millions of dollars needed to build the facility. It could become a major tourist attraction as well as a teaching center for people to learn about polar bears.
I for one will miss reading about Debbie. I never got a chance to see her. If any of you did and would like to share your experience through a blog post or photos, please leave me a comment.
Bear hugs, Frankie
If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
September 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
I just visited the zoo yesterday to check on her. She was inside since it was really hot and humid that day. One of the workers said that she seems to be doing a bit better, and there’s days where she’ll only eat her favourite pasties (smoked goldeye and the like). So at the moment, the zookeepers are giving her lots of anything that she feels like having.
I’ve visited the zoo at least once a year all my life. It’ll be hard to visit once she’s gone, because I grew up seeing her bask in the shade during the summer while munching on a treat (usually she just stares at the visitors curiously).