Coldilocks, Philadelphia Zoo's Polar Bear, Dies at 37

PHILADELPHIA – A longtime resident of the Philadelphia Zoo had to be put down recently as her health was in serious decline.

Coldilocks, a 37-year-old female polar bear at the zoo, was euthanized after age-related health issues continued to worsen and zoo animal care staff made the difficult decision on Monday, Feb. 19. She was the oldest polar bear in the nation at the time of her death.

"We are truly saddened this week - Coldilocks will be greatly missed.” Dr. Andy Baker, Chief Operating Officer, said. "Her long and healthy life is a testimony to nutrition and veterinary attention she received, and to the generations of keepers who cared for and about her over her lifetime. For more than three decades, Coldilocks brought attention to the issues facing polar bears in the wild including climate change and its growing negative impact on arctic ice. The Zoo works to share ways in which we all can make small changes in our daily lives to reduce energy use, contributing to efforts to slow climate change."

Coldilocks was born Dec. 13, 1980 at Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York. She came to the Philadelphia Zoo on Oct. 6, 1981.

Coldilocks well surpassed a typical polar bear lifespan of about 23 years.

During her many years in Philadelphia, Coldilocks remained one of the zoo’s most cherished animals, delighting people of all ages and at the same time inspiring them to care about polar bears and the conservation issues endangering them, the zoo said.

The zoo works closely with Polar Bears International (PBI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving polar bears and the sea ice they depend on.

"We are saddened to hear about Coldilocks,” Krista Wright, PBI’s executive director, said. "She lived a long life for a polar bear, which is a tribute to the care she received from the team at the Philadelphia Zoo. Bears like Coldilocks serve as ambassadors for their wild cousins, helping to draw attention to climate change and sea ice loss in the Arctic - and motivating people to act. Unless we reduce the carbon emissions that are causing the planet to warm, we could lose wild bears by the end of the century. We offer our condolences to the zoo staff and Coldilocks’s many fans."

The zoo is making a contribution in honor of Coldilocks to PBI and is encouraging those who appreciated Coldilocks and care about polar bears to do the same in an effort to aid PBI’s polar bear conservation work.

To donate to PBI, see here.

Images via Philadelphia Zoo