Latest news with #polarBear
CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
Polar bear at Assiniboine Park Zoo dies at age 30
Agee, a polar bear who has been living at Assiniboine Park Zoo since 2022, has died at age 30. A senior polar bear at Assiniboine Park Zoo died at the end of last week. In a Facebook post, the zoo announced the passing of Agee – a 30-year-old polar bear who came to Winnipeg from British Columbia in 2022. Agee turned 30 in January, which is a senior citizen in the world of polar bears. During her time at Assiniboine Park Zoo, she dealt with several age-related conditions, including kidney failure, dental problems and mobility issues. The Facebook post said Agee seemed to be doing well over the past month, but last week experienced a 'sudden, onset, severe deterioration in her health.' The zoo believes she had a significant decline in kidney function, which may have been associated with an infection. Despite medical intervention, Agee did not make it. Agee lived a private life and was not seen by visitors of the zoo. However, the zoo noted, she was deeply bonded to the team who cared for here. 'She loved to swim and spent much of her time cruising around in her personal pool,' the zoo said. 'She would often take enrichment items and food to her bed (aka her nest) and could be spotted cuddling with her toys.' Further investigation into the sudden decline in Agee's health is underway, including postmortem examinations. Results of these tests may provide more insight into Agee's condition at the time of her death.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Telegraph
The new regulations threatening Arctic cruises
When our waiter pointed through the restaurant window and exclaimed 'polar bear', I could swear the MS Spitsbergen listed, such was the rush to starboard. I was on a cruise up the coastline of western Svalbard, and we all wanted to see one. Yet this distant 'bear' sighting turned out to be a plump, white-coated reindeer – and the queue for omelettes soon reformed. How close we would actually get to one during Hurtigruten Expeditions' first 'Return of the Sun' voyage of the season, as winter's sea-ice cracked apart, was, however, another matter. That's because strict new conservation regulations governing how to see polar bears in Svalbard have just come into effect. The Norwegian government's new regulations mean ships cannot carry more than 200 passengers (we were 98), sites deemed fragile have been closed to landings, and there is firm guidance on not disturbing or pursuing polar bears. Which all seems sensible. What has caused some uproar is a diktat that between March 1 and June 30 (a period when females have young cubs) the closest distance a ship can view polar bears from is 500 metres. This drops to 300 metres for the rest of the year. One local Norwegian small-ship operator irately told me it would be the death of Svalbard cruising as even with powerful cameras and binoculars sightings would be too distant. He also showed me a recent video posted online of a scientific research helicopter harassing a polar bear with cubs. 'No cruise ship ever behaved so badly to the bears – it's a different rule for them,' he said. Still, I was optimistic – perhaps due to the serotonin overdose of midnight sun that blazed all night through my cabin window as we traversed a snowbound coastline of Toblerone-shaped mountains and glistening glaciers. Maybe I'd roll up my blackout blind to see a bear bobbing shipside on a piece of ice floe? Although if I did, the new regulations would require the ship to withdraw immediately to 500 metres away. Monica Votvik, the ship's Norwegian expedition leader, laughed: 'We don't tend to get those National Geographic encounters'. She was uncertain as to whether the regulation's rationale was conservation or to control tourism. 'I have been up around Svalbard for 15 years and had a lot of bear encounters and never once seen our operation disturb them. Mostly the bears are unbothered by our presence,' she added. Their population, she said, has been stable and last year's bears were fat with big bellies. Around 300 inhabit Svalbard, part of the Barents Sea population of 3,000, which roam across the ice eastwards to Russia's Franz Joseph Land. Since 1973 it has been illegal to hunt them here. An estimated 28,000 were killed during the century prior to the ban. Polar bears are not the sole focus of Svalbard voyages, Monica insisted. 'We don't call these wildlife cruises. It's about being in nature, among the glaciers and mountains,' she said. And she was right. During landings by zodiac dinghies we saw hauled-out walruses at Smeerenburg, squeezed together on a beach, some flat on their voluminous backs with ivory tusks pointing skywards. At Calypsobyen, the thwarted ambition is palpable of the abandoned workings of the British Northern Exploration Company's failed attempt at coal-mining between 1918-20. At Gravnesodden, the souls within the 17th-century graves of English, Dutch, and Basque whalers felt present in wavy murmurations of little auks overhead. One night a minke whale arched beyond the ship's bow. The perpetual soundtrack was barnacle geese migrating here in their thousands. Our polar bear moment arrived in the majestic snowbound Raudfjörden. At around 9pm, after a Norwegian seafood buffet, we crowded on Spitsbergen's bow when two bears had been spotted from the bridge. We edged closer, still well outside the new limit, but were halted by impenetrable ice, imprinted by a bear's heavy paw prints. I could make out the bears through binoculars virtually motionless staring at each other. They were pinpricks on the horizon, but this felt an authentically real way to experience their free-roaming lifestyles in the context of this immense Arctic wilderness. 'These distant sightings are the norm,' said Monica's assistant, Joshua van der Groen. 'If we saw them on the shoreline like this we would never land but previously would've launched the zodiacs to get closer whilst maintaining a respectful difference,' he said. The remote bear sighting however didn't worry fellow passengers, Ian and Jackie Ross, from Skye. 'We hadn't heard about the regulations before booking but they wouldn't have put us off,' they said. 'We didn't expect to see bears but came for nature and scenery. Any wildlife has been a bonus'. There is a suggestion that operators will sail beyond Svalbard's territorial waters, 12 miles out, to where the new regulations have no authority. It was in that zone, beyond 80°N, we saw one of Europe's most sublime spectacles: the southern edge of the polar ice front. Ahead of us was a white barrier that spanned the entire horizon. It was 600 nautical miles from there to the North Pole. Across its expanse polar bears can roam all the way to Russian islands. 'It will be interesting to see if ships do come here looking for bears, although you'd be very unlikely to see them due to the ice's extent,' said Joshua. Only early-season spring voyages are likely to sail to this ice-front because in summer it retreats. 'That would mean ships using a lot more fuel to reach it and more sea days, which would mean less landings, which guests enjoy,' he said. The biggest threat polar bears face is the retreat of Arctic sea ice – this winter's extent was the lowest on record – which undermines their ability to hunt seals on the ice floe. These new cruise regulations will therefore make little difference to wider efforts to conserve polar bears, but nor, thankfully, do they significantly diminish the experience of witnessing wild and magnificent Svalbard. Mark Stratton was a guest of Hurtigruten Expeditions. Its voyage costs from £5,540 per person including regional flights and hotel accommodation.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Victoria, UK's oldest polar bear, put down after health problems
The UK's oldest polar bear, and the first in the country to give birth to a cub in 25 years, has been put down because of age-related health problems. Victoria was 28 and had been kept in Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands since 2015. Vets at the park took the decision to euthanise her on Tuesday morning after an assessment about her quality of life and wellbeing. Since December she had been receiving geriatric care after showing signs of arthritis. Victoria initially responded well to medication, but was put to sleep after a deterioration in her health. In the wild polar bears rarely live beyond the age of 18, but can live for longer in captivity. Debby, believed to be world's oldest polar bear, died in 2008 aged 41 or 42, after living almost all of her life in Assiniboine Park zoo in Winnipeg, Canada. Victoria was born at Rostock zoo in Germany in December 1996 and first gave birth in 2008 at Aalborg zoo in Denmark to a female named Malik. In 2015 she was move moved to the Highlands park, run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Two years later she gave birth to Hamish, who according to the RZSS, was the first polar cub born in the UK since 1990. In 2021 she gave birth to another cub called Brodie. David Field, the chief executive of RZSS, said: 'Victoria was an excellent mother and seeing her bring up two big, healthy boys has been a joy for our charity's dedicated teams and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who have flocked to see the family and learn more about the threats these amazing animals face in the wild.' Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The charity said Victoria had left an 'incredible legacy' through her cubs, who continued to play an essential role in the European breeding programme. It said the initiative aimed to promote a genetically diverse population of polar bears in captivity.
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Health
- Sky News
UK's oldest polar bear euthanised at the age of 28
The UK's oldest polar bear has been euthanised due to her deteriorating health, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has said. Victoria, who was 28, had been receiving geriatric care at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie. The wildlife conservation charity's vets advised she should be euthanised after taking her quality of life and wellbeing into account. Victoria was born at Rostock Zoo in Germany in December 1996 and first gave birth in 2008 at Aalborg Zoo in Denmark to a female named Malik. In 2015 she moved to the Scottish park and gave birth to two male bears - Hamish in 2017 and Brodie in 2021. Hamish was the first polar bear to be born in the UK for 25 years. As part of the breeding programme for the species, Hamish was moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in November 2020. David Field, RZSS chief executive, said: "Victoria was an excellent mother and seeing her bring up two big, healthy boys has been a joy for our charity's dedicated teams and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who have flocked to see the family, and learn more about the threats these amazing animals face in the wild." Victoria was euthanised on Tuesday morning. RZSS said that in the wild only a small percentage of polar bears live past 18 and described Victoria's age as "testament to the world-class care she received from her keepers and veterinary team".
The Independent
21-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
UK's oldest polar bear is euthanised after bringing ‘joy' to thousands
Victoria, the UK's oldest polar bear, has died at the age of 28. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) made the decision to euthanise her at their Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie after she began experiencing age-related health issues. Vets determined that the most humane course of action was euthanasia after considering Victoria's quality of life and overall wellbeing. Born in December 1996 at Rostock Zoo in Germany, Victoria later became a mother in 2008, giving birth to a female cub named Malik at Aalborg Zoo in Denmark. In 2015 Victoria moved to the Highland Wildlife Park and gave birth to two male bears: Hamish in 2017 and Brodie in 2021. David Field, RZSS chief executive, said: 'Victoria was an excellent mother and seeing her bring up two big, healthy boys has been a joy for our charity's dedicated teams and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who have flocked to see the family, and learn more about the threats these amazing animals face in the wild.' Victoria was euthanised on Tuesday morning. RZSS said that in the wild only a small percentage of polar bears live past 18 and described Victoria's age as 'testament to the world class care she received from her keepers and veterinary team.'
