Baffin the polar bear dies at Calgary Zoo

The Wild Canada area of Calgary’s Wilder Institute Zoo was closed Friday after one of the zoo’s two polar bears, a seven-year-old male named Baffin, failed to surface from its pool and died.

Jamie Dorgan, the zoo’s interim executive director and chief operating officer, said the two bears were fighting around 11:30 a.m., calling it normal behavior, when Baffin entered the pool and did not surface.

The zoo has one more polar bear: a second male named Siku. Both bears arrived at the zoo last October from a zoo in Manitoba.

Dorgan said Siku was transported and Baffin was removed from the pool, at which point staff confirmed he had died.

“Obviously, it is a huge shock for our staff and volunteers today to learn of this incredibly surprising situation,” Dorgan said.

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The body has been removed and an autopsy will be performed.

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“Our veterinarians, who are trained pathologists, will analyze everything they can. We do this with every animal that dies here, regardless of whether we know the reason for death.

“So we will look for everything.”

The zoo’s Wild Canada area was completed last fall after more than two years of construction and renovation. Bears were the star exhibit.

Click to play video: 'Polar bears return to Calgary Zoo as part of Wild Canada exhibit'

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Polar bears return to Calgary Zoo as part of Wild Canada exhibit

The bears, seven-year-old Baffin and eight-year-old Siku, had resided at Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre for several years after being found orphaned as cubs near Churchill, Manitoba, and were considered unlikely to survive without human intervention.

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The world-class polar bear habitat covers more than two acres of space and the bears seem to be enjoying their new confines.

In addition to polar bear habitat, Wild Canada contains habitats for musk oxen, bighorn sheep, woodland caribou, North American river otters and whooping cranes, as well as an updated Jihad Shibley Rocky Mountain Aviary.

Click to play video: Giraffe death at Calgary Zoo ruled a 'tragic accident'

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Calgary Zoo giraffe death ruled ‘tragic accident’

The zoo held a press conference at 4:00 p.m. to share more details. More details to come soon…

– More to come…