Ocho blog by @diegocando8

At seven this morning, Homer, our sixteen-year-old polar bear, was discovered unconscious and later declared deceased.

The other two bears, Yukon and McKenzie, who are nine and ten years old, were taken out of the exhibit and are under the care of veterinary professionals.

“We will do everything in our power to determine how this bear died,” said Chris P. Bacon, director of the Zoo.  “Animal welfare and the preservation of species are our primary goals here at the zoo.”

Since 1985, polar bears have thrived at the zoo. The bears can grow in their natural habitat at our special sanctuary, where they can play in artificial snow, dress in gravel, and hunt trout in the cool pool. As representatives of their wild cousins, the bears inform zoo guests about these endangered species.

The cause of death will be attempted to be determined through a necropsy, but the results won’t be known for a few weeks.