Oldest Zoo-Living Grizzly Bear Euthanized in Columbus

Ginger, the Columbus Zoo's only Grizzly bear, was euthanized last week due to arthritis and old age. At 40, Ginger was the oldest living brown bear at a North American zoo. 

Ginger was a local favorite. She'd birthed two cubs (Sugar and Spicey) in 1989 and had been a regal fixture among the Columbus mammals since her arrival there in 1987. She actually had a stint at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo as well, after her birth in Milwaukee in 1975 and before her permanent move to Columbus. 

The Cleveland Zoo currently has two grizzlies, siblings Cody and Cooper, who were acquired as cubs from Montana in 2011. The Cleveland zoo also held another set of Grizzly siblings, from Wyoming, until their departure for the Akron Zoo in 2013. Cody and Cooper and now nearly five years old. 

Grizzly bears, on average, live 20-30 years in the wild and can live even longer in captivity. Ginger's old age was a testament, Columbus zoo officials said, to her excellent treatment there.