polar bear
November 26th, 2007 by frankie
A polar bear named Debbie has been entered into the Guinness World Records as the oldest living polar bear ever know. She lives at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Canada. In December, she will be 41 years old and is still in excellent health. Here’s a picture of her:
Debbie Taking A Nap
She was thought to have been born in December, 1966. She arrived from Europe as an orphaned cub in early 1967. Most of her life was spent with Skipper, her mate who died at the age of 34 several years ago. Skipper and Debbie produced 6 surviving offspring.
According to zoo keepers, Debbie ad Skipper would huddle together at night and wake up in the morning completely covered in snow. Sometimes in -40 C. temperatures. Their long relationship is considered very unusual for polar bears as they are solitary animals in the wild.
Most polar bears are lucky to survive 20 years in the wild so this is quite an achievement. It’s thrilling to me to know that polar bears in captivity are cared for well enough to live this long. If any of you visit Debbie, please send pictures so I can post them here for others to see. Thanks!