This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The video is heartbreaking.
Knut the polar bear, who grew up in the international spotlight after being rejected by his mother at the Berlin Zoological Garden, appeared to be spinning playful circles in his pen. Then, as hundreds of visitors looked on, the 4-year-old bear convulsed violently and fell sideways into a pool of water.
The cause of the superstar bear's sudden death is under investigation, but some animal rights activists have complainedthat his habitat was insufficient and his recent integration with other bears, after being raised by humans, was cruel and overly stressful.
But rather than see the bear's death as an indictment of zoos, the director of Utah's Hogle Zoo — which is expecting to open its own polar bear exhibit in 2012 — said the situation highlights why zoos are so important.
"We are very sad for the Berlin Zoo staff for the loss of their polar bear Knut," Craig Dinsmore said. "Any loss in the small population of polar bears in zoos is significant and highlights the importance of creating more zoo habitats to leverage against the threats polar bears are facing in the wild."
Hogle officials say their new exhibit, which will encompass several acres of the park's northwest quadrant, will be unparalleled in its attention to animal care and comfort.
The Rocky Shores exhibit "will be a place for us to provide the best possible care to any polar bears that come to us at Hogle Zoo," said zoo spokeswoman Lindsey Sine.
And given good care, zoo advocates say polar bears can thrive in captivity. In the wild, polar bears live an average of 15 to 18 years, according to Polar Bears International. In zoos, they can often live into their mid- to late 30s, and one bear, Debby, lived to be 42 at the Winnipeg Zoo.
Hogle has not had a polar bear among its menagerie since 2003, when a 14-year-old bear known as Andy died after swallowing a fleece glove that may have been dropped or thrown into his exhibit by a visitor.
Notable polar bear deaths
Dec. 2010 • Boris, 11, dies from a complication to anesthetic during an examination at the Tucson Zoo.
Aug. 2010 • Andy, 27, is euthanized after zoo officials learned she was in the final stages of liver failure at the wSan Francisco Zoo.
Sept. 2010 • Norton, 23, dies from a hernia at the Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania.
June 2010 • Frosty, 25, is euthanized following a bout with cancer at the Denver Zoo.
Aug. 2009 • Tahtsa, 35, is euthanized after complications of aging left her no longer able to stand at the Indianapolis Zoo.
May 2009 • Kavek, 24, is euthanized after an exam found his kidney disease had progressed dramatically at the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma.
March 2009 • Hope, 23w, is euthanized after exploratory surgery showed signs of advanced liver cancer at the St. Louis Zoo.
Dec. 2008 • A set of newborn, twin bear cubs die and are devoured by their mother at the Nuremberg zoo in Germany.
Nov. 2008 • Debby, 42, is euthanized after it was discovered she had suffered multiple organ failure at the Winnipeg Zoo in Canada.
Oct. 2008 • Snowball, 37, dies unexpectedly at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio.
May 2008 • Olaf, 22, is euthanized after a medical examination revealed a massive, cancerous tumor in his liver at the Denver Zoo.
May 2007 • Kinapak, 6, dies of chronic cardiopulmonary disease resulting from an anomaly in the heart valve at Illinois' Brookfield Zoo.
Feb. 2007 • Becky, 29, dies a day after surgery for cancer of the gall bladder at the Buffalo Zoo in New York.
Dec. 2006 • Lear, 21, is euthanized after cancerous tumors spread to her spine at the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque.
Nov. 2006 • Kelly,19, is euthanized after blood work indicated severe kidney failure, a necropsy showed that the bear had a number of stones and a plastic toy in her stomach at the Buffalo Zoo in New York.
Oct. 2006 • Kunik, 26, is euthanized apparently after contracting West Nile virus at the Toronto Zoo.
Aug. 2006 • Alcor, 7, dies following several hours of surgery to replace a broken leg at the Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania.
Aug. 2006 • Danny, 8, dies of heart failure following anesthesia for medical examination at the Buffalo Zoo in New York.
Nov. 2003 • Andy, 14, dies after swallowing a fleece glove at Utah's Hogle Zoo.
May 1998 • Anana, 8, dies following an emergency exploratory surgery at the Baltimore Zoo in Maryland.