Polar bear dies after over 25 years in warm Mexican zoo

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Yupik the polar bear has died after spending more than 25 years in a barren enclosure at a warm Mexican zoo.

The Benito Juarez zoo in the city of Morelia in western Mexico said Yupik died at 27, citing a ruptured aorta.

Animal rights activists said Wednesday officials had resisted efforts to transfer Yupik from the zoo, where average daily highs seldom drop below 70 degrees (21 Celsius). A British zoo reportedly offered to give Yupik a home in a more suitable climate.

The activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said that "Yupik languished alone for more than 25 years in a barren enclosure at a rundown roadside zoo."

Yupik had a pool, but temperatures were too high and she had little stimulation in the concrete structure.