Black bear at the NC Zoo is put down after illness caught caretakers ‘off guard’
One of the best representations of a native North Carolina species at the zoo in Asheboro has died, officials announced Wednesday.
Holly, a 28-year-old black bear, was “humanely euthanized” Nov. 6 after veterinarians diagnosed her with oral neoplasia — the equivalent of an “abnormal, cancerous growth.”
“The rapid onset of disease caught the caretakers and veterinarians off guard as they were surprised by the size and extent of the mass,” the North Carolina Zoo said in a statement announcing her death. “She had just had an exam in April of this year without any sign of the disease.”
Holly was rescued in 1992 from an “unaccredited roadside zoo” in Cherokee County, according to the release. The N.C. Wildlife Commission confiscated her and a male black bear named Yanu at the time.
Both arrived at the zoo on Feb. 13, 1995, the release states. Yanu died in 2017, but Holly kept on without him.
Caretakers estimate Holly was born in the wild and about 28 years old when she died last week.
According to National Geographic, the average lifespan of a black bear in the wild is 20 years. The oldest known wild bear was nearly 40 years old when she died in Minnesota, National Geographic reported.
The zoo said it was a difficult decision to euthanize Holly, but veterinarians were concerned about her “deteriorating quality of life.”
Black bears, the smallest species of bear in North America, are found predominantly in North Carolina. Holly and her compatriots at the zoo are thus “an important part of the state’s history and cultural heritage,” according to the release.
There are two black bears left at the zoo — Luna and Nova are sisters from the same litter and were born in 2008, spokesperson Deborah Fuchs told McClatchy news group.
The creatures, considered to be “shy and non-aggressive,” were once at serious risk after hunting and habitat loss dwindled their population in the 1990s, the zoo said.
The allocation of 500,000 acres for bear sanctuaries by the Wildlife Resources Commission helped combat that population decline, and now an estimated 11,000 black bears live in the state, according to the zoo.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 1:55 PM.
