Writing / The Voice of Michoacán
Morelia, Michoacan. On November 12, 2018, four years ago, the polar bear Yupik, who lived in the Benito Juárez Zoo in Morelia and was 27 years old, died.
In addition to being loved by the people of Morelia, who adopted her as a family, Yupik was a banner of the fight for animal rights, because years before she died, activists from all over the country asked for the bear to be transferred to another habitat suitable for her. species, far from the hot climate of the Michoacán capital.
Animal groups pressured the authorities to improve the conditions of her captivity, which led to the improvement of some conditions for the bear, however, her transfer never materialized.
Even the actor Eugenio Derbez asked the Government of Mexico to transfer the specimen to the United Kingdom so that he received adequate care, since since 2016 he had suffered from dilated heart disease, in addition to other ills.
Yupik was rescued in Alaska in 1992 after her burrow was destroyed by excavation. At that time, Yupik was a newborn and three months later she arrived in Morelia, where she lived until she was 27 years old.
In its last months of life, the animal caught the attention of various animal rights organizations, while in society it divided opinions and created controversy on social networks between those who requested its transfer, and those who wanted it to stay in the city.
The Association of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums of Mexico (AZCARM) indicated that the conditions of the transfer would not be good for the bear’s health, since the more than 15 hours of flight -during which it would be subjected to sedatives- represented a risk for the health of an animal of this age, considered a very adult specimen taking into account that the life expectancy of this species is 18 years in the wild.