Ahpun, one of the Alaska Zoo’s polar bears, died unexpectedly Dec. 31. Now zoo officials say Lyutyik, her mate, has been acting ill. They worry that he misses Ahpun.
Ahpun, one of the Alaska Zoo’s polar bears, died unexpectedly Dec. 31. Now zoo officials say Lyutyik, her mate, has been acting ill. They worry that he misses Ahpun. Facebook
Ahpun, one of the Alaska Zoo’s polar bears, died unexpectedly Dec. 31. Now zoo officials say Lyutyik, her mate, has been acting ill. They worry that he misses Ahpun. Facebook

National

This polar bear has been down since his mate died. Can a bear have a broken heart?

By Don Sweeney

dsweeney@sacbee.com

February 07, 2018 11:52 AM

Lyutyik the polar bear has been ailing, and his friends are worried. Could he have a broken heart?

The bear, also known as Louie, had shared an exhibit at the Alaska Zoo with Ahpun, his mate, for 10 years before she was unexpectedly found dead of natural causes on Dec. 31. Now his behavior has zoo officials concerned, KTUU reported Tuesday.

“A couple weeks after Ahpun passed, Louie started to act a little funky and showing some signs of soreness in his hind legs,” Patrick Lampi, executive director of the Anchorage zoo, told the station. Veterinarians found an abscess on one leg, which has been treated with antibiotics, but found no other signs of illness.

Lampi told KTUU that he thinks Lyutyik misses Ahpun, with whom he’d been paired since his arrival at the zoo in 2007. Ahpun died of meningitis, and zookeepers are keeping a close eye on Lyutyik for signs of the illness.

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“He seemed to be moving a little bit better today, to me,” Lampi told the station. “We are still concerned and are trying to make him take all his meds like a good boy.”

Ahpun came to the Alaska Zoo in 1998, according to the Alaska Daily News. Orphaned when a hunter shot her mother in self-defense, Ahpun originally lived with Oreo, a brown bear, but zoo officials ended their pairing when Oreo became aggressive toward Ahpun.

In 2007, the zoo acquired Lyutyik, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and came to the Alaska Zoo from Sea World Australia. Zoo officials hoped Ahpun would give birth to a cub, but despite breeding activity and the addition of a maternity den to the exhibit, she never became pregnant, according to the publication.

In the wild, polar bears typically live 15 to 18 years, while in captivity they can reach their mid- to late 30s, according to Polar Bears International.

After Szenja, a 21-year-old polar bear at SeaWorld in San Diego, died in April 2017, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals argued that she died of a “broken heart” when SeaWorld sent Snowflake, another female polar bear, to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium for a breeding visit a few months earlier.

“After losing her companion of 20 years when SeaWorld shipped Snowflake to the Pittsburgh Zoo in order to breed more miserable polar bears, Szenja did what anyone would do when they lose all hope, she gave up,” Tracy Reiman, PETA executive vice president, said at the time.

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