On July third the "depressed" polar bear Arturo is finally at rest. After leaving the U.S. around the age of eight, Arturo was moved into an Argentinian zoo despite disagreement from animal rights activist about the weather conditions being too extreme. There was no statement about why the bear was moved from the U.S. in the first place, other than the zoo only contained one polar bear in its exhibit.
The assumed reason for Arturo's depressed demeanor was because of the passing of Pelusa, a companion polar bear back in 2012 rather than his living conditions. Her passing was due to cancer, zoo officials released. Environmental group Greenpeace used the disturbing pictures of Arturo looking miserable as a platform to argue for his relocation to a more suitable location in Canada. The argument was deemed impossible due to the bear being quite older at the time and a bond between his caretakers.
Majority of polar bears only live to be around 25. The oldest recorded polar bear in captivity was 32 years old. Arturo was nearing 31 at the time of his passing. The cause of death is verified to be because of age, but this does not put to rest any beliefs that the living conditions could have negatively impacted his health.
The platform for animal activists now is that in this past year alone there have been three major cases of animals passing and being murdered due to the carelessness of human behavior and attention. The animals well being should be the first at hand rather than the exhibit and their presence at the zoo. Zoo's original intentions were to rehabilitate animal breeds and bring education to society about these animals and their habitats. With modern day technology we are able to watch documentaries and in some cases even travel to the locations of these animals without disturbing their environment, which is leading zoo's to be less of a necessity for wildlife education and more just an entertainment hell hole for animals everywhere. Living in a cage is not a way for animals to live.
This argument can also be seen when discussing people's beliefs on the treatment of animals at SeaWorld. Thankfully they have announced statements to the Los Angeles Times this past March about no longer breeding and having the Orcas perform in shows. The President and Chief Executive Officer of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment Joel Manby wrote, "Wild animals and wild places will continue to disappear...unless humans awaken and take action".
The Mendoza Zoo has not released a statement on behalf of Arturo's death. The zoo was even closed within the past year between December and May due to an excessive amount of animal deaths that reached over 60. The causes of deaths was due to bacteria outbreaks and overcrowding at the zoo.
As featured on the Polar Bears International Organization website, the Amigos del Oso Polar Arturo (friends of Arturo the polar bear) an animal welfare group, observed the living conditions of Arturo to assure that he was getting the proper care. Yet the comment of weather conditions seems to be missed. The mention of air conditioners being installed helps those concerned to be semi-consoled. The average weather for Mendoza for a high is 26°C (79°F) with a low of 9°C (47°F). In the Arctic, the average temperature in the winter can get to -40° or -50° F where as in early months it usually stays around -29°F. these temperatures are the same standards that are listed for SeaWorld's personal opinion on what temperature a Polar Bear exhibit should be. Arturo was subjugated to live in conditions that reached over 40°C (104°F).
A petition to relocate Arturo reached over 700,000 signatures. Cher was among the many who signed. However, they still made the decision to keep Arturo in these living conditions.
Today the petition has reached a grand total of 1,230,282 signatures and Arturo has now passed. He was never moved into a proper habitat, but is now finally in a better place.
