Arturo (1985 July 3, 2016) was a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

living in Mendoza Zoological Park in

Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza (), officially the City of Mendoza (), is the capital of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Mendoza Province, Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plain ...

, the only polar bear living in the country. He was born in the United States and transferred to Argentina in 1993. His companion, a female named Pelusa, died of cancer in 2012. The living conditions of the cage Arturo resided in were controversial, as temperatures reach up to in Argentina, and the pool in Arturo's cage was only deep. Animal rights activists had, in response, dubbed Arturo the "world's saddest animal" and promoted a petition to have him moved to

Assiniboine Park Zoo Assiniboine Park Zoo is a List of zoos in Canada, zoo facility located in the west end of Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established in 1904, Assiniboine Park Zoo is managed by the Assiniboine Park Conservancy. It holds accredita ...

, a zoo in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, Canada. The petition was created by Laura Morales of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. It gained considerable attention after the hashtag #Freearturo began trending on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Supporters of the petition also noted that a polar bear died in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in December 2012 due to excessive heat, and argued that Arturo exhibited symptoms of depression and other mental health problems. As of July 19, 2014, the petition had over 400,000 signatures, and had been endorsed by

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

and

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

. Assiniboine Park Zoo responded that while they would have gladly accepted Arturo there, they did not have the authority to do so unless Argentina agreed to transfer him there, and that the Mendoza zoo could not supply the necessary medical records to make such a trip possible. On July 24, 2014, the director of the Mendoza Zoo, Gustavo Pronotto, told the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

that Arturo was too old to be moved to Canada. In social media, people also advocated for Arturo to be moved to Canada. and Twitter hashtag #FreeArturo. Arturo died on July 3, 2016, aged 30–31, despite polar bears rarely living beyond 25.

References

2016 animal deaths Individual polar bears 2014 in Argentina Individual animals in Argentina {{Animal-rights-stub

See also

References