UK's oldest polar bear euthanised as health fails

The UK's oldest polar bear has been euthanised due to her deteriorating health, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has said.

Victoria, who was 28, was the mother of Hamish, who in January 2018 was the first polar bear cub to be born in the UK in 25 years.

Her keepers at RZSS' Highland Wildlife Park said she had been receiving geriatric care, and the decision to end her life on Tuesday was taken on the advice of vets.

Victoria had shared an enclosure at the park, near Aviemore, with her second cub Brodie, aged three.

The Highland Wildlife Park also has two adult male bears, 16-year-old Walker and Arktos, who is 17 and is the father of Hamish and Brodie.

Hamish was moved in 2020 to Doncaster's Yorkshire Wildlife Park Resort, where he is one of six polar bears.

Polar bears can live into their early 30s, but survive an average of 15 to 18 years in the wild.

Victoria's keepers said 28 was the equivalent of her being in her 90s in human years.

RZSS said in December that keepers had noticed Victoria was struggling to keep up with Brodie.

Her specialist care included medication to give her relief from joint pain.

Victoria's diet included cod liver oil, lard, salmon oil and oily fish like sardines, mackerel and salmon.

The food was given in an attempt to achieve the benefits she would have enjoyed from eating seals in the wild.

The RZSS said: "We are sad to share the loss of Victoria, the UK's oldest polar bear, who was experiencing age-related health problems and had been receiving geriatric care.

"Taking into account her quality of life and wellbeing, our wildlife conservation charity's vets advised that Victoria should be put to sleep."

It added: "She leaves an incredible legacy through her cubs who play an essential role in the European breeding programme, which ensures a healthy and genetically diverse population of these bears living in human care."

Victoria was born in 1996 at Rostock Zoo in Germany and had previously given birth at Aalborg Zoo in Denmark in 2008.

While at Aalborg she gave birth to a female cub called Malik.

She arrived at RZSS' Highland Wildlife Park in March 2015.

During Victoria's later care, RZSS drew on the experiences of other zoos and studies of polar bear skeletal remains to help understand wear and tear on the animals' bodies.

Healthcare provided to domestic cats and dogs also helped guide the care of Victoria.

The park has had an elderly polar bear before.

Mercedes died at the park in April 2011 at the age of 30.