Blizzard appeared at the zoo in 2014. After 5 years he died.
Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo staff and all the volunteers who knew the bear are very sad about the death of the animal. Their work is usually connected to a particular animal, to which they are attached very much.
The zoo's director of veterinary services, Chris Enright, said that Blizzard was an unusual bear, very kind and communicative with people.
It all started about 2 weeks ago when the bear began to eat poorly.
"Our veterinary team made the decision to anesthetize Blizzard in order to conduct a full assessment of his condition," Enright said.
After the bear received antibiotics, his condition became better for several days. However, on the previous weekend, he got ill again. On Monday morning, it was decided to re-examine the animal. During the examination, he died.
"Veterinary and animal care staff did absolutely everything we could to save him but sadly he passed away," Enright said. "It is always sad when we lose one of our beloved animals at the zoo, but a loss under these circumstances is particularly challenging."
An autopsy revealed that Blizzard had inflammation in the chest cavity and heart problems.
Recall that Blizzard was found together with his sister near the coastline of Hudson’s Bay. They were about a year old. Their mother was not found. Both bears were brought to the zoo, as the chance of survival in the wild is rather low for such small cubs.
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