Aquila, one of the three original residents of the Zoo’s Polar Bear exhibit, returned to Asheboro Wednesday and may be on exhibit as early as April 9.
The 16-year-old male bear arrived via truck Wednesday afternoon, coming in from the Cleveland Zoo. A N.C. Zoo keeper and veterinarian accompanied Aquila on the trip.
Wilhelm, the zoo’s lone Polar Bear during the past two years, was taken off exhibit in February in order to undergo treatments for several medical problems. With Wilhelm, age 24, now in an off-exhibit holding facility, Aquila becomes the lone resident of the Polar Bear exhibit, which frees him from needing to undergo the 30-day quarantine period normally imposed on new Zoo animals.
Aquila first arrived at the N.C. Zoo with brother Arcturus and sister Aurora in June 1994. Born at the Louisville (KY) Zoo in 1992, the sibling polar bears were named for stars in the Northern Hemisphere and quickly became stars in their own right here at the Zoo.
The popularity of the three bears never waned over the ensuing years, although two of the siblings eventually died from unrelated medical problems—Aurora in February 1999 and Arcturus in October 2002. Aquila remained at the N.C. Zoo until November 2002 when Wilhelm and another male bear, Masha, came to Asheboro.
Wilhelm and Masha were among six polar bears confiscated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from a circus traveling in Puerto Rico. An investigation had uncovered allegations that the Circus' care of the bears violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act. To make room for two of the confiscated bears, Aquila was transferred to the Louisville Zoo. (Later, the Louisville Zoo transferred him to Cleveland.)
Masha died in June 2007 from a combination of internal problems related to the inadequate care he received during his years in the circus. No timetable has been set for Wilhelm to return to the N.C. Zoo exhibit area. He remains under constant care by keepers and veterinarians.
In the above photo, Zoo veterinary and keeper staffs monitor Aquila, who was anesthetized to allow his transfer. Photo by Tom Gillespie
