World’s oldest polar bear is dying: zoo

OTTAWA, Saturday, (AFP)

The world’s oldest polar bear, orphaned as a cub in the cold Russian north and raised in captivity, is dying, after thrilling more than 18 million visitors to a Canadian zoo, officials said Friday.

Debby, 41 years and eight months old, continues to reside in her exhibit at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, and comes out to see zoo visitors “most days,” said officials in a statement.

But she “is showing signs of her advanced age” and her “prognosis of recovery from age-related medical problems is not good.”

Zoo officials said they chose to announce Debby’s failing health because she means so much to so many people.

Many visitors in recent years, who were children when they first saw Debby as a youngster, have brought their own children and grandchildren to see the cherished bear, they said.

“A wonderful ambassador for her species, it is significant that she has survived to 2008, the International Year of the Polar Bear,” so designated by Polar Bears International magazine, said officials.

An orphan from the Russian Arctic, Debby arrived at the zoo as a cub in 1967.