A 19-year old lone polar bear at Utah's Hogle Zoo died on April 8, 2017, after being diagnosed with kidney failure. Rizzo (name of the bear) was euthanized after veterinarians realized that there is not much they could do.
According to NBC News, renal failure cannot be cured at all and keeping the polar bear comfortable is the only approach that can be done, as stated by Erica Hansen.Being the spokeswoman for the zoo she added that the decisions they made are not very easy, especially for the zoo. As soon as Rizzo refuses to take in food, the veterinarians were forced to perform the difficult decision.
Before the diagnosis, Rizzo experienced lethargy and was having trouble in eating. The veterinarians drew blood and performed an abdominal ultrasound and an endoscopic exam on the bear's upper gastrointestinal tract. After all the necessary procedures, renal failure was drawn, a condition not uncommon among polar bears.
The doctors performed all available approaches in saving Rizzo; treating with anti-inflammatories and administering fluids. However, the polar bear cannot compensate anymore and cannot be saved, as such vets performed euthanasia. Since her, death the zoo's social media sites were flooded by sympathy and touching messages.
According to Time, the zoo explained the decision through Facebook post stating that due to the terminal diagnosis of Rizzo, the very difficult decision was carried out to humanely euthanize the polar bear. Furthermore, they also stated that the polar bear died peacefully without any pain.
Polar bears like Rizzo can live until reaching 30 and their average life expectancy is from 15 to 18 years. The lone polar inhabited the zoo since 2012. Polar bears are the world's largest land predators. They can be located in the Arctic, Alaska, Canada, Russia, Denmark, and Norway. Male polar bears grow 10 feet tall and may weigh over 1,400 pounds. Female polar bears, on the other hand, can reach seven feet and may weigh over 650 pounds.
