New York City's Last Polar Bear Tundra Euthanized At Bronx Zoo

New York City's lone polar bear was euthanized at the Bronx Zoo on Saturday, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced.

According to the zoo officials, 26-year-old Tundra was suffering from chronic kidney disease and arthritis, and couldn't recover despite being given proper treatment.

According to various reports, Tundra was born in the Bronx Zoo in 1991. Generally, the median life expectancy for a male polar bear living in zoos is less than 21 years.

According to a report in local publication AM New York, zoo director Jim Breheny said, “Despite his age he remained extremely active and playful until just before his death. Tundra served as an important ambassador for his species, giving our guests an opportunity to see the power, majesty and grace of polar bears while learning about the problems these bears face in the wild due to a changing environment.”

Breheny took to Twitter to express his sorrow on the passing away of the bear and wrote, “Tundra was born at the Bronx Zoo 26 years ago. I tried to stop by & see him every day, he was a great animal & will be missed.”

Tundra became the only polar bear in the city after Central Park Zoo’s Gus died in 2013. Gus, the 27-year-old bear, was euthanized as it had been “exhibiting abnormal feeding behavior with low appetite and difficulty chewing and swallowing his food.” The doctors found a “large, inoperable tumor in his thyroid region.”

Gus was brought to New York in 1988, three years after he was born in a zoo in Toledo,Ohio.

Gus became famous in the 1990s due to his swimming patterns that led behaviorists to determine that he was getting bored.

According to reports, the Bronx Zoo has no plans to procure another polar bear as of now.

The news of Tundra's death comes in the wake of the oldest male polar bear in the country being euthanized at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, last week.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the vice president of clinical medicine for the Chicago Zoological Society, Dr. Mike Adkesson, said that 32-year-old Aussie was very close to the caretakers.

Adkesson added, “It was unfortunate timing, but it was the right decision at the right time. The care staff had been monitoring him closely for the past year and saw a decline in his health – an abrupt slowing down.”

Aussie was the first polar bear that was brought to North America from Australia in December 1986. Aussie was born at Adelaide Zoo in June 1985. He was officially named Biaz, an acronym for Born In Adelaide Zoo.