A Popular Zoo in Minnesota Just Announced Sad News
The sad announcement from this Minnesota Zoo came late last week regarding a popular resident.
The Lake Superior Zoo is located on Minnesota's scenic North Shore on a 19-acre site along Kinsbury Creek in Duluth. According to its website, it's been a staple in the Land of 10,000 Lakes for quite a while:
The Lake Superior Zoo is the only zoo in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. As the 19th oldest Zoo in the United States, we have a rich history of providing close-up animal experiences.
And they passed along some sad news Thursday regarding a popular resident. Or rather, a former resident, that is. Lake Superior Zoo shared the news on its Facebook page that Berlin the polar bear had passed away at age 33 at the Kansas City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri.
Berlin was a resident here in the Bold North at Lake Superior Zoo from 1990 until 2012, when massive flooding along the North Shore caused significant damage to her habitat. In fact, the post said, the flood waters rose so high, Berlin was able to climb on top of one of the rocks surrounding her enclosure and escape.
Luckily, the post says, she was able to be tranquilized and was then transported to the Como Zoo in St. Paul temporarily before making the journey to her final home at the Kansas City Zoo, where she lived for the past 10 years.
Lake Superior Zoo also recounted some very sweet stories of how smart Berlin was, and how she entertained thousands of Minnesotans during her time here in the North Star State. And while they were sad to announce her passing, Lake Superior Zoo noted that 33 is an incredibly old age for a polar bear and that Berlin herself was the oldest polar bear in human care in the U.S.
Did you ever see Berlin while she lived at Lake Superior Zoo? And speaking of animals, keep scrolling to some famous movie animals that were adopted by actors who also appeared in those films, as well as a bucket list of animals to look for in the wild here in Minnesota. (Polar bears, though, aren't on either list.)
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