U.S. Polar bear 'dies of a broken heart' after best friend shipped off by SeaWorld

A leading animal welfare charity claims that a polar bear "died from a broken heart" after her best friend of 20 years was shipped away from SeaWorld San Diego to Pittsburgh Zoo.

She lived alongside Snowflake in the enclosure for around 20 years and the two females developed a deep friendship. Recently Snowflake was sent to Pittsburgh Zoo in an attempt to breed her.

Link to article

This is just so sad and made me water up a little bit. Animals do not belong in zoo's but I do understand the need to breed certain species so as to give them a fighting chance of not going extinct. All zoo's should be shut down and the animals moved to sanctuaries that can properly accommodate and care for them. She spent practically her whole life in captivity but was fortunate enough to have a friend to give her something to live for and when that was taken away she had no will to live. I've been in that place and it is not a good place to be. Humans are god damned scourge to this planet. I really think we were placed here by something more advanced and unknown to us because we do not fit in with the environment around us. Instead we corrupt, pollute and destroy it as we grow and continue to grow in numbers encroaching further into the wilds erasing the ecosystems in our wake.

Is it possible for humans to die of heartbreak too? I might after reading this and everything else I've read lately.

Rest up little Polar Bear. Hopefully you're one with everything now.

-Alee

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

That's terrible. I agree with you about zoos.

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix
The idea of a zoo does suck (it's basically an animal prison, even if a four-star animal prison), but at least they are exponentially better now than they were even 50 years ago, and especially 100 years ago.

It's a sad story, sure, but here's the question I pose to you, since you feel it appropriate to condemn all of humanity over the existence of zoos: Would Szenja, a 21-year-old polar bear at the time of her death who was born into captivity, have even existed at all or at this point in her life if zoos did not exist.

I mean, she appears to be the result of breeding in captivity, and the article states that these animals expect to only live to about 18 years old in the wild. So, it could be argued that the existence of Szenja at all was because of humankind, not in spite of us, and that her "extra" three years of life was also because of humankind, not in spite of us.

It's kind of a catch-22 here--we should mourn the fact that Szenja lived 21 years in captivity, but at the same time, we should realize that, without said captivity, she may not have existed at all or may have died an earlier death (and probably would have lived a harder, even if more appropriate, life in the wild).

PETA--a terrible organization, IMO--is the one claiming that she died of a broken heart. I do think that she died of malnutrition (loss of appetite) brought on probably by the depression of losing a friend, but to take PETA's word for the cause of death is something that I'm absolutely not willing to do.

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix
The bear was old, it was probably just its time.

The life expectancy of a polar bear living in its natural habitat is 15 to 18 years. A polar bear living in captivity can live to be 30 years old.

It had already survived beyond its time from its natural environment.
The broken heart is nonsense. Zoo's are the main institutions that are keeping endangered animals alive, and breeding as well s educating the general population of their situations. It would be illogical to shut them down over some nonsense propaganda about broken hearts. Where will the funding for a non-public sanctuary come from if they are not generating ticket sales and revenue from the sale of merchandise/food ??

Unfortunately so many people who make their living from animals (zookeepers, horse & dog racers, circuses, breeders, etc.) couldn't care less about the needs and feelings of the animals in their charge and only see them as "things" from which to make money.

Sal
a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

They should have given her a kitten.

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

They should have given her a kitten.

For a nano second I thought you were serious then I laughed!

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

she would have eaten the kitten!

I agree, activists are quick to blame. The bear lived a normal lifespan.

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

I was being serious.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

Very well sir, I guess even bears can not resist the adorableness that kittens wield.

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

Whales and dolphins share the same pain-seaworld and Japan has a lot to answer for.

I watched a documentary where the Japanese hunted down dolphins while their offspring cried out for help as they watched their parents die, it was heartbreaking and sickening. The evil in me wants to shatter the hunters kneecaps with a crowbar while their children of the hunters watched, but the good in me would sit the children down and make them watch the ghastly work that their fathers do.

I brushed the teeth of a dolphin once but after seeing how they came to SeaWorld and other porpoise pools the experience has been tarnished. Those cries of those baby dolphins will haunt me for a long time and made a grown man shed a tear.

For shame SeaWorld, for shame.

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

If I could I'd give you a million stars. Wild animals should remain free and be assiduously protected.

originally posted by: NerdGoddess
Is it possible for humans to die of heartbreak too? I might after reading this and everything else I've read lately.

Rest up little Polar Bear. Hopefully you're one with everything now.

-Alee

Humans, bears and other animals like dogs and cats are all mammals. They all have roughly the same brain architecture (vision, memory, touch, hormones) as well as social communication.

Even some mice mate with the same partner for life. The female will get panicly and agitated if she can't find her partner in a maze. As soon as she finds him she snuggles up to him and becomes relaxed. No different from a human couple in a DIY store.

The reality is that animals in various captive facilities are usually all kept in a genetic database and moved as needed for captive breeding so that none need be taken from the wild if at all possible.

This was done in an attempt to keep wild polar bears where they belong -- in the wild, by preserving the already existing captive population with careful husbandry.

PETA know exactly how to play on everyone's heartstrings and they are doing it here. They know that after the orca fracas, SeaWorld will get everyone up in arms because of that negative press. Because, of course, SeaWorld hates all its animals and wants them all to die. They never, ever do any good for any animals at all, anywhere, ever which, of course, is an enormous lie. SeaWorld has done and continues to do quite a bit of good with its various conservation, rescue and captive breeding programs of other animals.

And then, they tell you that a polar bear who is already beyond what her expected natural span in the wild would be died of a "broken heart." They anthropomorphize the bear to make you identify with her more strongly. Did she miss her companion? Possibly. Many animals can and do miss their longtime companions. Some can pine away and die even, but there isn't any way to know for sure is this is what happened to this bear especially as she was older than she likely ever would have been in the wild.

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

The zoo was always making me only sad so it's been maybe 15 years from the start of my lifelong boycott.
You know what kinda changed my view couple of years ago? It will improve your mood too:

Lisa Simpson: I hate going to the zoo. I feel so sorry for the animals.
Homer Simpson: Lisa, the zoo opens up a whole new world for the animals. In the wild, they would never experience boredom, obesity, loss of purpose - you know, the American Dream.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
a reply to: RainbowPhoenix
The bear was old, it was probably just its time.

The life expectancy of a polar bear living in its natural habitat is 15 to 18 years. A polar bear living in captivity can live to be 30 years old.

It had already survived beyond its time from its natural environment.
The broken heart is nonsense. Zoo's are the main institutions that are keeping endangered animals alive, and breeding as well s educating the general population of their situations. It would be illogical to shut them down over some nonsense propaganda about broken hearts. Where will the funding for a non-public sanctuary come from if they are not generating ticket sales and revenue from the sale of merchandise/food ??

This really says it all, quite well.

No, zoos are not evil.

No, human beings aren't some sort of plague.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

There was a time, the majority of time humans have existed that we would move before depleting the resources. Everyone knew how the natural system worked. We would move and use resources but before these resources were all consumed we would move to another area allowing the environment to recover we did this as a species for hundreds of thousands of years. We were a spiritual people, then we traded this spirituality for coin, for agriculture. After we made this choice all the negative of human society emerged. We lost our connection with the natural world. We went from living and adapting to our environment to reshaping our environment to suit our needs regardless of the environmental impact. If you take a wild animal and put them into a zoo, what happens to the animal, insanity occurs. We live in a zoo.

- LDragonFire

originally posted by: 123143
Wild animals should remain free and be assiduously protected.

The bear in question was not a wild animal--it was born in captivity and lived the entirety of her life in captivity. That's about as far away from a wild animal as one can get.

I agree with your sentiment, but like I said in another comment, the likelihood that this bear ever would have existed if it weren't for the zoo system is very low. The likelihood that she would have lived past 18 years old in the wild is very low, also.

We can all pretend that this bear lived a terrible life, but it was all that she knew, so to her, it was just life. It's not as if they yanked her out of the wild at 12 years of age and shoved her into a crate made for a Saint Bernard dog.

The funny thing is, I wonder how many people, like you, comment about how wild animals should remain free while sitting in a confined space in a big city surrounded by nothing but asphalt and concrete...

originally posted by: SlapMonkey

originally posted by: 123143
Wild animals should remain free and be assiduously protected.

The bear in question was not a wild animal--it was born in captivity and lived the entirety of her life in captivity. That's about as far away from a wild animal as one can get.

I agree with your sentiment, but like I said in another comment, the likelihood that this bear ever would have existed if it weren't for the zoo system is very low. The likelihood that she would have lived past 18 years old in the wild is very low, also.

We can all pretend that this bear lived a terrible life, but it was all that she knew, so to her, it was just life. It's not as if they yanked her out of the wild at 12 years of age and shoved her into a crate made for a Saint Bernard dog.

The funny thing is, I wonder how many people, like you, comment about how wild animals should remain free while sitting in a confined space in a big city surrounded by nothing but asphalt and concrete...

I don't know where all this stuff in your comment came from. It really has nothing to do with what I said.

If we, as the "masters" of this planet, had been altruistic, wild animals would have remained wild and been assiduously protected.

BUT, since we are also the most egregious, narcissistic, and arrogant creature on the planet, we have made many assumptions about how good we've been to Earth and its non-human inhabitants.

I'd like you to sit in a cage or a tiny exhibit for decades. Then you can lecture me about how great we are for wildlife.

And don't assume you know where or how I live. My response to your snide comment is that at least I have a choice as to where and how I live. Zoo animals do not.