Behind the scenes of polar bear Luna’s physical exam
Even a polar bear needs a check-up.
Luna, the Buffalo Zoo’s 13-year-old female polar bear, underwent her annual physical exam last week, giving the Zoo’s veterinary team the chance to get an up close look at her and ensure she’s in good health.
Physical exams are commonplace for animals at the Zoo, but a checkup for a 500-pound polar bear requires extra attentiveness and care.
Simply put, physical exams of this magnitude are a total team effort.
A group of over a dozen Zoo staff, which included keepers and veterinary staff, came together to ensure the exam went as smoothly as possible. Members of the physical exam team had tasks ranging from holding Luna’s paws in the correct position to monitoring her heart rate and respirations levels.
The Zoo’s veterinary staff began their various tasks after she was anesthetized, which included checking Luna’s legs, paws and joints, doing some dental work and also taking blood samples. The entire exam took around two hours, and our staff worked diligently and quickly to ensure every box was checked.
A crucial part of every exam with Luna is checking in on her reproductive health.
Polar bears are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with a decreasing population and 26,000 estimated to be living around the globe. With the severe threat of climate change causing the rapid loss of sea ice in their native habitats, polar bears are increasingly at risk.
As a result, doing everything we can to save this species is integral, and that includes work with our own polar bears.
Our veterinary team conducted an ultrasound on Luna’s reproductive organs to ensure everything was healthy, and it all came back positive. In previous years during Luna’s exam, the Buffalo Zoo has partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), which conducts research focusing largely on the reproductive health of female polar bears. All this research and information is used to benefit polar bears not just in zoos, but in the wild as well, with the goal of saving this incredible species.
Luna’s physical exam also allowed our veterinary team the chance to use some new, incredibly helpful technology: a portable x-ray machine that the Buffalo Zoo recently received thanks to a grant from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation.
The portable x-ray machine is connected to a laptop, which allows our staff to see imaging on site and make quicker assessments. In the case of Luna, our staff looked at x-rays of her head and lower body to determine everything looked good.
As one of under two dozens zoos in the United States with polar bears, caring for Luna and the Zoo’s male polar bear Sakari is paramount.
This kind of conservation work the Buffalo Zoo undertakes has the straightforward goal of augmenting the polar bear population, and the more we are able to learn about Luna and her health, the better.
We are happy to report that Luna’s physical exam revealed her to be in great health! Visit the Buffalo Zoo and say hello to Luna and Sakari as they enjoy the snowy, wintry weather.
