Cleveland Zoo's Snowball the polar bear found dead
Posted by Patrick O'Donnell October 24, 2008
Snowball, the second-oldest polar bear in captivity in North America, died unexpectedly Friday morning at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
The lover of mackerel -- known as the queen of her three-bear community -- was 37.
"She was the boss lady of the exhibit," said Sue Allen, spokeswoman for the zoo. "If she wanted to bask in one part of the exhibit and another bear was there, they got up and let her."
An avid fisher, catching any fish a keeper would toss into her exhibit's moat, she was indistinguishable from the other two polar bears to most zoo visitors. Snowball entertained patrons by playing with hard plastic balls, often pushing them with her nose as she swam, or with the frozen balls of fish, fruits and vegetables the zoo calls "fish-sicles."
She died after breakfast, having shown no signs of illness. A necropsy was performed late Friday.
"She was generally in good health," Allen said. "She was outside Thursday night for our 'Boo at the Zoo' celebration. Friday morning she was out with the two other bears in the exhibit. At 10:30, a zookeeper found her dead."
Preliminary results will not be available until Monday but Allen said there were no signs of foul play or injury.
The oldest polar bear in captivity, Debby, was last reported in failing health at the age of 41 at her zoo home in Winnipeg, Canada. Polar bears typically live 15 to 18 years in the wild and into their 30s in zoos.
Despite her captivity, Snowball had an active social life, playing with and dominating the string of exhibit mates she has had over the years. She also had a vigorous love life, bearing many cubs to multiple fathers. Their identities were not immediately available. At least eight offspring survived.
Parts of Snowball, including her pelt, may be studied or used as exhibits to teach patrons about bears. The rest of her remains will be buried on zoo property.
The zoo has not yet decided if it will seek a new bear to take her place.
--{Too Bad, The Weather Was Just Getting Comfortable for Her}(G)..
trsmith + 3 Friends 
