The only polar bear left in Singapore has died.

This was announced by the Singapore Zoo on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

Inuka, a 27-year-old male polar bear, was surrounded by its care team, consisting of vets and keepers, who jointly made the difficult decision not to revive it from anesthesia on humane grounds.

Final check-up

Inuka was put under general anesthesia at 7am to commence a health check-up. This was done to ascertain the polar bear's health after witnessing it worsen over several months.

The decision not to revive it was made at 9.30am.

Inuka was administered another chemical to put him to sleep while under general anesthesia so it felt nothing.

Ailing health deteriorated further

In an earlier health examination on April 3, Inuka's health was found to have significantly declined.

Due to its ailing limbs, Inuka was unable to support its more than 500kg weight.

It suffered from a stiffer gait, causing it to drag its paws as it was unable to lift its extremities.

The final health examination found that the wounds on its paws and abdomen had not responded to treatment and did not improve.

In December 2016, the zoo had already noticed Inuka was unresponsive.

Over the years, the keepers noticed a lameness in its right paw pad, which was getting from bad to worse and had had tried to manage it in different ways.

Antibiotics and increased doses of painkillers were administered, and the care team felt they were able to manage its deterioration.

However, since December 2017, Inuka's condition took a turn for the worse as it started deteriorating much faster than usual.

There were lesions on all four paw pads, with more on the left because of the pain the bear was experiencing on its right side.

Inuka was witnessed to drag its legs when it walked as it could not lift its paws.

Inuka had been on the geriatric programme at the zoo for the past five years.

Final day

On its last day, the keepers spent the whole day with Inuka, making sure it was comfortable by hand-feeding it water.

It was still responding to hand signals. The keepers spent the entire night with it.

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Autopsy and memorial

A full autopsy will be performed on Inuka. The zoo revealed that it will not be buried.

Inuka's body may be used for future research purposes.

Its current enclosure will be closed and refurbished into a sea lion exhibit in the next few months.

According to the zoo, a private memorial ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 26.

Inuka will be Singapore's last polar bear.

In 2006, the zoo announced that it would no longer bring anymore polar bears to an equatorial climate after discussions with its Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee.

Top photo via Wildlife Reserves Singapore