Arturo - the polar bear
Arturo — a 28-year-old polar bear living in an Argentinian zoo is known as world's saddest polar bear.
The polar bear suffers from ailments associated with old age, and a potential move could be dangerous, as he would have to be sedated, director Pronotto said.
He added that the behaviors which others had highlighted as signs that the animal was in distress were merely down to his age.
Argentina has refused to relocate its lonely polar bear to a wildlife park that specializes in the species, despite a petition by more than half a million people.
Arturo's plight came to the attention of animal rights advocates, who dubbed him 'the world's saddest animal' when they launched a petition to call for him to be moved.
The polar bear has been alone in his enclosure since his partner, Pelusa, died of cancer in 2012.
Visitors to the zoo, and animal experts, had reported seeing him pacing nervously in his concrete enclosure, and appearing to struggle with the high temperatures.
The last polar bear to die in Argentina did so during a heatwave in 2012.
Currently, Arturo has only a shallow pool, said to be only 20in deep, to provide cooling water.
The Sea Ice Passage is 21 metres long, 3 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep and, while the bears dive and splash around, visitors can watch them through a tunnel that goes underneath the exhibit.
For Arturo, it would have been a chance to experience something closer to the wild, and to have interaction with his own species for the first time in two years.
The polar bear suffers from ailments associated with old age, and a potential move could be dangerous, as he would have to be sedated, director Pronotto said.
He added that the behaviors which others had highlighted as signs that the animal was in distress were merely down to his age.
Argentina has refused to relocate its lonely polar bear to a wildlife park that specializes in the species, despite a petition by more than half a million people.
Arturo's plight came to the attention of animal rights advocates, who dubbed him 'the world's saddest animal' when they launched a petition to call for him to be moved.
The polar bear has been alone in his enclosure since his partner, Pelusa, died of cancer in 2012.
Visitors to the zoo, and animal experts, had reported seeing him pacing nervously in his concrete enclosure, and appearing to struggle with the high temperatures.
The last polar bear to die in Argentina did so during a heatwave in 2012.
Currently, Arturo has only a shallow pool, said to be only 20in deep, to provide cooling water.
The Sea Ice Passage is 21 metres long, 3 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep and, while the bears dive and splash around, visitors can watch them through a tunnel that goes underneath the exhibit.
For Arturo, it would have been a chance to experience something closer to the wild, and to have interaction with his own species for the first time in two years.
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