Polar Bear Olaf Dies At Denver Zoo
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Olaf, the father of Klondike and Snow, the 1st polar bear cubs raised by hand, died on May 3 at the Denver Zoo. Olaf was 22 years old and had been at the Denver Zoo since he 1987 at the age of 1-1/2 years old.
Zoo keepers had noticed over the past several weeks that Olaf was lethargic and his feeding was off. On May 2, the veterinary staff anesthetized him and performed a medical exam. They found a swollen area in his abdomen and so they performed a biopsy. The results of the biopsy showed an aggressive and terminal form of liver cancer.
Olaf was humanely euthanized on May 3 due to the loss of quality of life and because of the cancer was deemed irreversible. The necropsy determined Olaf had a massive tumor in his abdomen.
Olaf in better days
Picture courtesy of Denver Zoo.
Senior Veterinarian Dr. David Kenny who was Olaf’s veterinarian for 21 years, said, “Often with wild animals, they do not show symptoms of illness until they are quite ill. This was the case with our valiant Olaf, who showed no signs of illness until quite recently, despite having terminal liver cancer. He was such a good bear.”
Olaf was a very popular and will be sorely missed.
Bear hugs, Frankie
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P.P.S. For more polar bear facts, photos, cartoons and more, check out my Squidoo site: Are You Polar Bear Aware? which has received several awards this year.
P.P.P.S. If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at http://www.nwf.org/polarbear
