Argentina's last zoo polar bear, Arturo, dies in Mendoza

Argentina's last polar bear, who was at the centre of an unsuccessful campaign to be relocated to Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo, has died in the South American zoo where he spent most of his life.

Arturo died on Sunday at the age of 30 at the Mendoza Zoo in western Argentina. He died of complications related to his "advanced age," the zoo said in a news release.

His remains will be cremated and buried on zoo grounds, officials announced Tuesday.

Arturo lived a long life, zoo officials said, citing an average life span of 20 years in the wild and 26 years in captivity. He had been living at the zoo since he was eight years old.

Animal rights activists in Argentina and around the world lobbied the Mendoza Zoo to have Arturo transferred to a cooler climate, arguing that the bear was in distress.

• Send 'sad' Argentinian polar bear to Canada, supporters urge
• Argentina zoo rejects moving polar bear to Winnipeg

Numerous organizations, including Greenpeace, Zoocheck Canada and the Winnipeg Humane Society, argued that Argentina, with its hot weather, was not an appropriate home for a polar bear.

'Sad' polar bear in Argentinian zoo should come to Canada, say supporters

12 years ago

Duration 1:37

Supporters of Arturo, a polar bear currently living in a zoo in Mendoza, Argentina, are calling on officials to relocate the Arctic animal to the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg.

A petition two years ago gathered more than half a million signatures seeking to have Arturo transferred to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, which is home to the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.

In 2014, the Mendoza Zoo declined an offer from the Winnipeg-based zoo to take Arturo, saying the bear was too old to be safely moved.

The zoo was recently closed by the government, which is converting it into an ecological park for various animal species.