Ailing and arthritic, Mercedes may be put out of her misery in months

SCOTLAND'S best-known polar bear may have only months to live, it has been revealed.

Mercedes, the star attraction at the Highland Wildlife Park since she moved to the Kincraig centre near Aviemore 17 months ago, has contracted an incurable form of severe arthritis which is causing her health to deteriorate.

And the bear, which is now 30 years old, may have to be put down if her condition worsens and she begins to suffer from the advanced osteoarthritis which afflicts her.

Mercedes was moved from Edinburgh Zoo to a new, larger enclosure at the wildlife park in October 2009. But her life of solitude as the only polar bear in the UK ended last November when a young male companion, two-year-old Walker, took up residence at the park after being transferred from Rhenen Zoo in Holland.

Douglas Richardson, the animal collection manager at the Highland Wildlife Park, explained yesterday that Mercedes had been diagnosed as suffering from advanced osteoarthritis last October after keepers noticed that she was not moving about her enclosure as easily as she once had.

He said: "We started to note that she wasn't moving around as much as she usually did and that her stride had shortened. We compared video footage we had of her from a year ago and noticed a real difference."

Tests carried out in October confirmed that Mercedes was suffering from advanced osteoarthritis for which there is no cure. She is being treated with both pain-killers and anti-inflammatory drugs to ease her condition.

Mr Richardson said: "Mercedes is extremely old for a polar bear, and it is to be expected that her health may deteriorate. It is not unusual for older bears to get arthritis.

"She has been on a course of drugs for some weeks which appears to have alleviated the condition and we are trying some new ones as well. We have seen a mild improvement but are still quite worried."

He stressed: "Despite her mobility and joints not being what they once were, Mercedes still currently enjoys a good quality of life here at the Highland Wildlife Park.

"But we make no secret of the fact that, if the quality of life of any of our animals has diminished to the point where we think that they are suffering, then we will make the difficult decision to put them down. But we are not at that position yet with Mercedes."We constantly liaise closely with both our internal vet team and external experts, and our team of keepers are on hand to give her all the care she needs."

Simon Girling, a vet for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: "We're managing her condition with various medication and pain relief, and we're currently trying her on some new medication.

"If Mercedes deteriorates further in the future and begins to suffer, it is probable that with sadness we will have to consider humane euthanasia on the grounds of health and welfare. However, we are not at this stage yet."