AssetID: 54778379
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Britain's Oldest Polar Bear Dies Aged 28
Caption: Britain’s oldest polar bear, Victoria, has died at the venerable age of 28. Born in Rostock Germany; months after England’s loss to Germany in Euro 1996 and when The Spice Girls 2 Become 1 topped the charts; she became an ambassador of European nations. Victoria first moved to Aalborg Zoo in Denmark where she gave birth to a girl named Malik. She eventually moved to what would become her long-term home at the Highland Wildlife Park in 2015 and gave birth to two boys there. Her son Hamish was the first polar bear to be born in the UK for 25 years when he emerged in 2017, while she also gave birth to Brodie in 2021. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said she had been experiencing age related health problems and receiving geriatric care. Taking into account her quality of life and wellbeing, the wildlife conservation charity’s vets advised that Victoria should be put to sleep. David Field, RZSS CEO, 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.” With only a small percentage of polar bears living past 18 in the wild, at 28, Victoria’s age is testament to the world class care she received from her keepers and veterinary team. She leaves a legacy through her cubs. As while we would all like to see polar bears in the wild, with their habitat and ways of staying alive being threatened by climate change, captive populations and breeding programmes may be the only may of safeguarding the species’ survival against the odds.
Keywords: polar bear,feature,video,photo,animals,nature,death
PersonInImage: