Scottish polar bear receiving geriatric care after struggling to keep up with cub at Highland Wildlife Park

A Scottish polar bear is receiving geriatric care after park keepers noticed her struggling to keep up with her cub at the Highland Wildlife Park.

Victoria, the park’s oldest polar bear, gave birth to Hamish, the first cub to be born in the UK in 25 years in 2018.

He arrived at the park near Aviemore in January of that year, three years after Victoria moved to the facility in 2015.

However the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said keepers have noticed the 28-year-old struggling to keep up with her youngest cub, Brodie, who was born in December 2021.

Park keepers noticed Victoria struggling to keep up with her cub at the Highland Wildlife Park. Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS)

Keepers said it was clear from her movements that she has some pain in her joints, likely associated with arthritis, which is very common in older animals.

After a few weeks of tests, the vet team found the bear’s blood and organ health to be “very good” and started to give her pain relief medication for her joint pain.

Victoria was born in 1996 at Rostock Zoo in Germany. Royal Zoological Society of Scotland

The charity said that since starting the medication, Victoria has had a “new lease of life” and has been able to climb again.

“She has also really benefitted from the stimulation of regular training, becoming more alert and more keen to engage with enrichment activities,” it said.

“We will continue to carry out positive reinforcement training with her, as it allows us to keep a close eye on her health status, and regular ‘geriatric assessments’ help us to track her progress.”

Polar bears can live into their early 30s, but average around 15 to 18 years in the wild.