Arturo, the 'world's saddest polar bear', dies aged 30

Arturo had reportedly been showing signs of depression since his longtime companion died four years ago

New York

Tuesday 05 July 2016 15:12 BST

Arturo lived alone for years, and spent all of his life in an enclosure (Getty)

Arturo the polar bear has died at the age of 30 after a life spent in captivity and displaying signs of stress, according to campaigners.

Known as the "world’s saddest polar bear" and the last captive bear in Argentina, Arturo died at Mendoza Zoo, four years after his longtime companion Pelusa died of cancer.

Visitors reported the bear pacing up and down inside his concrete enclosure, rocking from side to side, displaying his teeth and other signs of discomfort as temperatures would rise above 40C.

His pool of water was only 20 inches deep, and zoo staff threw blocks of ice in the water to keep it cool.

A petition in 2014 to relocate Arturo to Canada to escape South America heat and to interact with other bears drew more than half a million signatures, including the name of former house speaker Newt Gingrich and singer Cher.

“His current living situation is very sad, and he deserves to be saved,” a statement on the Change petition site said two years ago.

 Arturo stretches out in the heat

Zoo director Gustavo Pronotto said he was too old to be sedated for the 6,000 mile journey.

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“Arturo is close to his caretakers. We just want everyone to stop bothering the bear,” he said at the time, adding that Arturo’s signs of stress were just down to his old age.

Argentinian vets ruled in February 2014 that Arturo should remain at Mendoza Zoo.

Greenpeace campaigners argued that Arturo was an example of maltreatment of animals in captivity.

Argentinian professor Fernanda Arentsen, from the Université de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg, told the Winnipeg Free Press in 2013: “You can see he is going crazy. He moves the way polar bears do when they are suffering a lot of stress.

”He has been filmed rocking back and forth in a way that signals distress. It breaks my heart to see it. I’m from Mendoza. I know how hot summer is. There is no way for him to escape the heat.”

 

Arturo was born in the US in 1985. The 900lb bear arrived in Mendoza in 1993. He was served 33lb of meat per day, as well as fruit, vegetables and honey.

He had no contact with other bears for the last four years of his life.

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