November 19, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 20, 1429

OTTAWA, Nov 18: The world’s oldest polar bear, orphaned as a cub in the cold Russian north and raised in captivity, has died aged 42 after thrilling millions of visitors to a Canadian zoo, officials said on Tuesday.

“It is with great sadness that Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo must advise that Debby the polar bear — one of the world's most-famous and loved bears — was euthanised on Monday,” the zoo in western Canada said in a statement.

“Debby's medical condition had been gradually declining for several months, but she remained active and alert” until her final hours, “when a clinical exam indicated multiple organ failure.” Debby, 42, an orphan from the Russian Arctic, arrived at the zoo as a cub in 1967.

She produced six surviving offspring with her mate Skipper, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 34. Few polar bears reach 20 years of age in the wild, but several captive bears have survived into their early 30s.

This year, the Guinness Book of World Records crowned Debby the world's oldest polar bear. In fact, she is thought to be the third oldest bear ever recorded for all eight living species of bears.

Zoo coordinator Gordon Glover said Debby was “without a doubt the most famous animal in (the zoo's) 104-year history.” “She epitomised what one orphaned animal can achieve in promoting the conservation of her species and other wildlife in light of mounting ecological and environmental challenges like global warming,” he said.

“She will be missed by millions of zoo visitors.” In her final months, Debby continued to reside in her exhibit at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, and came out to see zoo visitors “most days,” officials said previously.

Reports of her birthday in December 2007 described the bear as “playful in her senior years,” enjoying swimming, submerging a plastic barrel in her pond and stalking birds that landed in her enclosure.

Her favourite pastime, however, remained eating, zookeepers said of the 300-kilogram (660-pound) bear. Many visitors in recent years, who were children when they first saw Debby, brought their own children and grandchildren to see the cherished bear, they said.

“A wonderful ambassador for her species, it is significant that she survived to 2008, the International Year of the Polar Bear,” so designated by Polar Bears International magazine, officials said.—AFP