Calgary Zoo polar bear drowns after rough play incident
Polar Bear Baffin. (Credit: Calgary Zoo)
CALGARY, Alberta - A polar bear at the Calgary Zoo in Canada died after getting injured in rough play with another polar bear, a necropsy confirmed.
Zoo officials said that the 7-year-old male polar bear ‘Baffin' drowned after his trachea was crushed by an 8-year-old male polar bear, ‘Siku.'
It's believed the two polar bears were rough playing when Baffin lost consciousness underwater.
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A necropsy confirmed that Baffin was otherwise in excellent physical condition and there was no evidence of heat-related stress.
"Although the necropsy results are conclusive about the cause of Baffin’s death, they offer little solace to our team that loved Baffin so deeply", said Zoo Official Colleen Baird said in an online statement.
The zoo said Baffin was rescued as an orphaned cub. He was introduced to other polar bears at Assiniboine Park Zoo. Siku was also rescued as an orphaned cub.
"Baffin and Siku shared a long history as longtime habitat mates and enjoyed a companionate relationship, which is why they were chosen to come to Calgary from Assiniboine Park Zoo. They displayed many natural polar bear behaviours, including playing daily in and out of the water. The type and intensity of play on the day of the incident appeared to be no different than the type of play their caregivers witnessed from them on a daily basis," said continued.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.