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The Polar Bear Zara is dead

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Duerener1, 2 Sep 2014.

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  1. Duerener1

    Duerener1 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  2. adrian1963

    adrian1963 Well-Known Member

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    here is a translated version of the above link hope this helps everyone -

    Zara was one of the polar bears, where it was not so easy to learn about their lives. But over time we managed to find out a lot. Now she is dead. She was suffering from cancer and in June 2014 it was decided to Heythorp heavy heart to redeem them from their suffering.

    Zara was born on Christmas Eve 1982 in Karlsruhe. It has become so nearly 32 years old, in the wild rarely reach an age that polar bears and not the rule for a polar bear in captivity. Her mother was called Nadja and her father Nanuk. You and a litter sister were the first two juveniles, who brought her mother. In Karlsruhe, the female pups Nanny and narcissus were baptized at the age of just six months they were together with two other polar bears, who came in Karlsruhe to the world in 1982, given the male Nepomuk and the female Nanette to the animal dealers rest, they sold to the famous animal trainer and ringmaster Gerd Simoneit-Barum. Exactly when Zara was given a new name, we can not figure out. Presumably, it was the trainer, who baptized Zarah Leander. For a book about famous predator dressage polar bears by Gerd Simoneit-Barum are from this period with the name mentioned Pola Negri, Asta Nielsen, Zarah Leander and Maurice Chevalier.

    Maybe Zara was one of the three polar bears, which can be seen in a photograph from a newspaper from the 80's of the 20th century.. We have two newspaper articles found, the report of an incident in May 1986 when it came during a circus performance at the Hamburg Heiliggeistfeld to a non-hazardous incident between Brown Bear "Gusev" and the polar bear "Fred Astaire". Among other things, these articles report that to the predator group three female and one male polar bear among which were three and a half years old.

    Zara's circus career came to an end in 1997. Gerd Simoneit sold together with two other polar bears, one male and one female, Jim Clubb, an animal trainer from England, with whom he was friends. Before the three polar bears should be brought to England, they came together with a Kodiak bear and three black bears in a park to Spain, where they should remain until transport. Unfortunately, the bears were fed there with pork, which was infected with the Aujeszky virus. Although a veterinarian from England came to Spain and helped a veterinarian of the zoo Madrid in the treatment of the animals, all animals except for Zara and two black bears died. The Aujeszky's virus causes the so-called pseudorabies, a nearly always fatal in almost all mammals infectious disease, primates and humans are not susceptible to the virus
     
  3. Duerener1

    Duerener1 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Thanks for the quick translation
     
  4. stubeanz

    stubeanz Well-Known Member

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    I noticed that UK zooguide on Facebook posted that Zara had died a few weeks ago, however they didn't elaborate when myself and a few others asked if it was true. It's a shame to see it is true. RIP Zara