Female polar bear killed during breeding at Detroit Zoo
'This was completely unexpected,' officials say
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A female polar bear at the Detroit Zoo has been killed by a male polar bear who was attempting to breed her, officials have said.
The 20-year-old polar bear, named Anana, was killed by the Zoo’s 16-year-old adult male bear, Nuka, on Monday, the zoo confirmed in a statement.
The pair, who are said to have lived together without incident in 2020, was re-introduced last week after several months apart as part of the Zoo’s conservation programme.
“This was completely unexpected and the Detroit Zoo staff is devastated by the loss of Anana in this sudden and tragic event,” Detroit Zoological Society Chief Life Sciences Officer Scott Carter said.
The Detroit Zoo said it had not experienced the killing of one animal by another animal in decades with the last occurrence also being with polar bears in 1988.
Nuka and Anana were re-introduced as part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) Polar Bear Species Survival Plan.
The survival plan is a cooperative population management and conservation program that helps ensure the sustainability of healthy captive animal populations.
“This program is vital to sustaining this endangered species and can result in successes like the recent birth of twin cubs, fathered by Nuka at the Detroit Zoo,” the zoo said in a release.
The Detroit Zoo’s other adult female polar bear, Suka, is in a private maternity den with one of her cubs.
The two cubs were born at the zoo in November 2020 to eight-year-old Suka and were the first polar bears to be born and successfully raised at the Detroit Zoo since 2004.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments