‘Mercy death’ for paralytic 33-year-old bear at MP zoo

Indore: In a rare case, a 33-year-old Himalayan bear that had suffered paralysis over two years back and was grappling with deteriorating health since then, was on Saturday given ‘mercy death’ at the Kamla Nehru zoo here, authorities said. With a heavy heart, the zoo staff bid adieu to Sonu, the bear that was born at the same zoo, after he was given an injection and put to sleep forever.

“As part of the mercy killing, Sonu was first given anaesthesia and half an hour later another injection was administered and he was put to sleep forever,” in-charge of civic-run Kamla Nehru zoo, Dr Uttam Yadav, said. For giving mercy death to the ill bear, the zoo authorities had sought permission from Delhi-based Central Zoo Authority as well as the Chief Wildlife Warden in Bhopal, which gave their nod to the move.

Dr Yadav said adding before the mercy killing, the staff of the zoo had decorated his cage with flowers and the bear was given his favourite food before the injection was administered. “The average age of a bear is 25 to 30 years, but Sonu was around 33 years old,” Yadav said.

Sonu had suffered a paralytic attack two-and-a-half years ago and since then his health kept deteriorating despite offering top class treatment to him, he said.

“The bear was in great pain due to paralysis. He was not only struggling to eat properly, but it had rendered him helpless,” Yadav said.