By Catherine Wolf, KWMU
St. Louis, MO –
The Saint Louis Zoo is dealing with another animal death. Zoo veterinarians euthanized a 23-year-old polar bear, Hope, Monday. She was suffering from inoperable liver cancer.
Zoo staffers say the decision to euthanize her was made because she had not been interested in food and had been less active in recent days. Staffers say she lived longer than most captive polar bears, which live between twenty and twenty-two years.
The zoo has dealt with several deaths and illnesses this year. In February, two of its apes died and two elephants tested positive for herpes.
Hope came to the Saint Louis Zoo in 1986.