In this Sept. 5, 2012, file photo, Ahpun, a female polar bear, strolls around her cage at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska. The popular polar bear died unexpectedly on New Year’s Eve the zoo said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dan Joling, File)

In this Sept. 5, 2012, file photo, Ahpun, a female polar bear, strolls around her cage at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska. The popular polar bear died unexpectedly on New Year’s Eve the zoo said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Dan Joling, File)

Polar bear Ahpun dies after nearly 20 years at Alaska Zoo

  • Tuesday, January 2, 2018 10:11pm
  • News

ANCHORAGE (AP) — A beloved polar bear at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage has died.

A zookeeper Sunday found Ahpun, who was about 20 years old, dead during morning rounds.

Zoo director Patrick Lampi says Ahpun had shown no signs of illness and a necropsy found no cause of death.

Tissue will be sent out for additional analysis.

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Ahpun was orphaned in 1998 near Point Lay on Alaska’s northwest coast. A man returning from a fishing trip unknowingly approached a den and Ahpun’s mother charged.

The fisherman shot the bear in self-defense and determined she had emerged from a den. The fisherman crawled inside and found the cub.

Ahpun grew from a 31-pound cub into a 700-pound adult.

The zoo also has a male polar bear, nicknamed Louie.

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