Hsiao-hsiung (小熊), an Asian black bear that was sent to Taipei Zoo as a cub after being found for sale in a cage in Chiayi County’s Alishan Township (阿里山), had been euthanized at the age of 34 due to deteriorating health, the zoo said yesterday.
A New Taipei City resident surnamed Chen (陳) saw the bear for sale on a roadside in Alishan on Oct. 31, 1989, when it was two or three months old, the zoo wrote on Facebook.
Unwilling to leave it there, Chen purchased the bear and took it to Taipei Zoo, hoping it would be able to take care of it, the post said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
Despite its name, meaning “Little Bear,” Hsiao-hsiung grew into a strong adult bear, it said.
However, it developed age-related ailments in the past few years, including arthritis, bone spurs, high blood pressure and hair loss, it said.
Asian black bears have an average lifespan of about 25 years in the wild, but Hsiao-hsiung lived to be 34, spending the last few years in a “bear retirement village” in the zoo’s Formosan Animal Area, it said.
Over the weekend, zookeepers noticed that Hsiao-hsiung was having trouble getting around.
It lost use of its hind legs, they said.
An examination and computed tomography scan by zoo vets determined that the bear had spinal bone spurs and intervertebral disc disease, with the spurs suspected to be putting pressure on his spinal cord and nerve roots, causing his immobility, the zoo said.
The veterinary team tried for two days to improve Hsiao-hsiung’s condition with laser therapy and other treatments, but was unsuccessful, it said.
Given his advanced age, and the low odds that surgery would lead to a full recovery, they made the decision to compassionately euthanize him on Tuesday, it said.
Zoo staff would remember Hsiao-hsiung’s imposing figure and the way his ears would move back and forth “like a radar” upon hearing his keepers’ voices, it said.
“Thank you for letting us take care of you and keep you company until the end,” the zoo added.
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