AURORA.JPG

Aurora, a 30-year-old polar bear, was euthanized at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Monday. She is seen in a 2010 photo. Marvin Fong, Plain Dealer file

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo had to euthanize Aurora, its last polar bear, because of declining health.

She was born at the zoo 30 years ago, and spent time at other zoos, including ones in Germany and Wisconsin, before returning to Cleveland in 2001.

Zoo veterinarians examined the bear earlier this year and found liver cancer. The cancer was so advanced that treatment was not possible. Since then, zoo staff kept a close watch on Aurora for signs of discomfort and to monitor for quality-of-life issues.

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Her condition had significantly worsened over the last two days and the veterinary and animal-care staff on Monday made the difficult decision to euthanize her.

“It’s never an easy decision to euthanize an animal,” the Zoo’s General Curator, Andi Kornak, said in a press release. “Aurora enjoyed a long life and she was a favorite of both guests and staff. But her condition was beyond treatment and we made the humane choice after assessing her quality of life.”

Female polar bears have an average life expectancy of 24 years in zoos, according to the press release. Polar bears are the largest land predator in the world, capable of reaching up to 8 feet long and 1,600 pounds for a full-grown male. They are classified as “vulnerable” in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

When Aurora returned here in 2001, she joined Snowball, another female, and Little One, Snowball’s male offspring.

Snowball died here in 2008. Little One went to the Cincinnati Zoo the previous year.