Updated: 11/16/2012 07:43 | By Channel NewsAsia

Singapore Zoo’s polar bear Sheba dies at age 35

SINGAPORE: Sheba, the polar bear that has been an attraction at the Singapore Zoo for over 30 years, has died.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the parent company of the zoo, said it is extremely saddened by the death of its beloved polar bear.

It said Sheba lived to a ripe old age of 35 years, far exceeding the normal life span of 25 years for polar bears that are not in the wild.

She was under treatment since September for loss of strength in her hind limbs, but her condition worsened in the past week.

It had to be put down after a close evaluation showed that her prognosis was poor.

Sheba arrived at the Singapore Zoo on April 14, 1978, from Cologne Zoo, Germany, when she was just 14 months old.

She was the first polar bear to have successfully raise a cub in the tropics.

Her son Inuka continues to be in the Singapore Zoo, and is now 21 years old.

— CNA/lp

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