Save Yupik, the Polar Bear, From Mexico's Hot Climate

Yupik was orphaned in Alaska in 1992 and sent to the Morelia Zoo in Mexico.

Because polar bears are specially adapted to live in cold climates and range over long distances, Yupik’s heath has been severely compromised by living in the small barren enclosure in Morelia’s hot climate.

The small, barren space she has been provided does not allow Yupik to get proper exercise and therefore she lacks proper muscle mass. She is also very thin due to the warm climate. If she had the natural layer of blubber that her wild counterparts have, she would die from heat prostration in Morelia’s hot climate.

Additionally, her teeth were broken off from chewing on the bars of her enclosure. Despite the zoo management knowing that she suffered from this very painful injury for years they did not do the necessary dental work or even give her pain relief medication.

In 2017, Zoocheck Canada paid to bring in a team of medical experts to assess Yupik’s health and to do the necessary dental work to relieve her pain with help for the Michocan Governor. The team included 3 bear experts from the United States and the United Kingdom as well as other medical experts from within Mexico.

The expert team found that Yupik’s health is severely compromised by living at the Morelia Zoo and they recommend that she be relocated to a facility that can provide more space, natural substrate in a colder climate. If she is relocated, Yupik could live another 15 years.

Zoocheck has found a new home for Yupik at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom and is willing to transport her there at no cost to the zoo or the State of Michoacán. This facility would provide a much more suitable environment for Yupik to live out the final part of her life, but she must be moved soon as her health is declining in Morelia.

For more information about Yupik and her medical examination www.SaveYupik.com