The oldest female polar bear in Europe died in the Berlin zoo.
Polar bear Katyusha was 37 years old, as the zoo announced on Monday.
Carers found her dead in her outdoor area on Christmas Day.
She had had a heart condition for a number of years and had therefore been receiving veterinary treatment for a long time.
Katjuscha was born in 1984 at the Karlsruhe Zoo and came to Berlin when she was about one year old.
At times she lived in the zoo with the polar bear Knut on a facility that was raised by hand and was a big visitor magnet.
However, Knut was only four years old.
In their natural habitat, polar bears live to a maximum of 25 to 30 years, with very few animals reaching the age of 20.
Katyusha had been ill for a long time, and thanks to the daily administration of medication, she was able to reach an impressive polar bear age.
“For her last birthday in November, she even ate a full fish cake,” explains Zoo and Tierpark Director Andreas Knieriem.
Katjuscha, the last female polar bear, has now died at Berlin Zoo.
How the polar bear keeping in the zoo will continue in the future will be decided in the coming weeks.
There are still polar bears in Tierpark Berlin in the eastern part of the city.