World's Oldest Polar Bear Dies at Canadian Zoo

In an Oct. 18, 2006, file photo Debby the polar bear is shown at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in...

In an Oct. 18, 2006, file photo Debby the polar bear is shown at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The beloved polar bear billed by the Assiniboine Park Zoo as the oldest in the world has died at the age of 42. Zoo officials announced Monday evening, Nov. 17. 2008 that Debby was euthanized earlier in the day.

(Winnipeg Free Press/CP, via AP)
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The world's oldest polar bear has died at a Canadian zoo.

Zoo co-ordinator Gordon Glover at Winnipeg, Manitoba's Assiniboine Park Zoo said Tuesday that the bear, named Debby, was euthanized on Monday after suffering from several strokes and organ failure.

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The 42-year-old polar bear was born in the Russian Arctic in 1966. She came to Winnipeg's zoo as an orphan a year later.

Debby entered the Guinness Book of World records as the oldest living polar bear earlier this year at age 41.

Few polar bears reach 20 years of age in the wild, but many have survived into their early 30s in captivity.

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