Photo: Ingrid Barrentine/Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Blizzard, the beloved polar bear and last of his kind at thePoint Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, has been humanely euthanized following a “rapid decline in his health,” the Washington zoo announced on May 9.
The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, located in Tacoma,shared in a Facebook postthat Blizzard was diagnosed with liver cancer in September 2021 and received chemotherapy and other supportive care for several months before his death on May 8.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that our beloved polar bear Blizzard was humanely euthanized yesterday after a rapid decline in his health. Blizzard was rescued as an orphaned cub in Churchill, Canada, before coming to Point Defiance Zoo in 1997. The elderly bear was diagnosed with liver cancer in Sept. 2021 and was receiving chemotherapy treatment and other supportive care to slow the progression of the disease,” the zoo wrote onFacebook.
“At 26, he lived past the median life expectancy of 23 years for polar bears in human care. Blizzard inspired generations of guests from around the world to care about his species,” the post added of the “engaging bear.”
Ingrid Barrentine/Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
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In a release from the zoo, Dr. Karen Wolf, the facility’s head veterinarian, explained that Blizzard was diagnosed with an “aggressive form of cancer.” Still, the zoo “kept Blizzard comfortable and ensured he had a high quality of life for many months after his diagnosis.”
A necropsy following Blizzard’s death revealed the bear’s cancer mass in his liver had grown to the size of a giant watermelon, according to the Point Defiance Zoo.
Zoo officials said that as global climate change reduces Arctic sea ice, wild polar bears struggle to locate and catch seals, making it more difficult to survive.
source: people.com
