WRS Animal Welfare & Ethics Committee (AWEC) Recommendation for Polar Bear Inuka to stay in Singapore

The Wildlife Reserves Singapore Animal Welfare & Ethics Committee recommends that Singapore-born polar bear Inuka should remain here and not be sent to an institution in a temperate country, upon the demise of his mother Sheba. This recommendation was made during the Committee’s meeting on 27 January 2007.

Following are the supporting arguments for this recommendation, which considers above all else, what is best for Inuka:

Inuka was born in Singapore and already acclimated to the conditions here.

The life span of both Inuka (16 years old) and his mother Sheba (30 years old) indicate that both polar bears are faring well in this environment.

Male polar bears are solitary by nature and associate with females only during the breeding season. Maintaining Inuka alone at the Singapore Zoo after his mother’s demise is not counter to what occurs naturally in the wild.

The transport of a full grown polar bear to an institution in a temperate country will be a stressful situation and carries its own share of risks; most extreme being that Inuka may die during transportation or during the introduction process in the new facility.

Depending on when Sheba passes on, Inuka may have only limited breeding potential because of his age, and if sent to a temperate institution, will probably not contribute to the captive breeding effort.

Moving Inuka to a temperate facility after losing his mother will add further stress, since he will be removed from an environment that he is already familiar with.

Inuka will continue to be the Singapore Zoo’s ambassador for the conservation and educational thrusts regarding climate change, throughout his whole life here.

The public is invited to give their feedback on the Committee’s recommendation.

The WRS Animal Welfare & Ethics Committee comprises: