Hogle Zoo lost one of its most celebrated residents on Wednesday when "Chinook," the zoo's 25-year-old female polar bear, was euthanized due to escalating health problems.
Chinook was born in November 1977 at the Memphis Zoo and was brought to Utah in January 1979. She has been one of the most successful polar bear mothers in any zoo, raising 10 offspring since her first baby in 1985. Three times she gave birth to twins. Zoo officials described the mother bear as both a protective defender and gentle, nurturing caregiver.
She gave birth for the last time in November 2000 to a female, Anana, who was sent to another zoo in the spring of 2002.
Due to her increasing age and other age-related health considerations, zoo officials had earlier made a decision not to allow Chinook to become pregnant again, as even the last birth and subsequent rearing seemed to have tired her physically.
Zoo officials said staff were extremely saddened by her death, and her keepers remained by her side to the end. "She was a special lady," one keeper said.
Zoo veterinarians are awaiting results of a necropsy, an autopsy for an animal. It will take several weeks before results are returned. Zoo officials said no decision has been made on whether to seek a replacement animal.