NC Zoo mourns death of beloved grizzly bear

The North Carolina Zoo is mourning the death of Yepani, a beloved grizzly bear who was known for his gentle and patient personality and has lived at the zoo for 25 years. He died Wednesday, according to a press release.

“Yepani started experiencing clinical symptoms of intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) late last week,” said Health Dr. Jb Minter, the zoo's director of animal health. “Intervertebral disk disease, often referred to as a herniated, slipped or ruptured disk is commonly seen in some of our domestic pets. The rapid progression of this disease severely diminished his quality of life, and the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Yepani was made Wednesday morning. A necropsy (animal autopsy) was performed this afternoon confirming the suspicion of IVDD.“

Male grizzlies in the wild live about 10 to 11 years and can weigh 400-700 pounds (Yepani weighed 400 pounds); but Yepani lived for an estimated 28 years, according to the zoo.

He arrived in North Carolina in November 1994 from Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Wash. Yepani was originally a “nuisance bear" at Yellowstone National Park where he stole coolers and backpacks from campsites to get food. Many nuisance bears are euthanized, but the zoo was ultimately able to provide a home for him.

Yepani, which means "autumn" in the Native American Shoshone dialect, was the first grizzly bear at the NC Zoo. Another bear from Yellowstone named Tommo, who is about 29 years old and weighs about 650 pounds, also came to live at the zoo a few months later, according to the zoo.

“Yepani was smaller than Tommo but was definitely mightier. Because of his smaller size, the staff gave him nicknames including ‘Little Bear,’ ‘Teacup Bear’ and ‘Rollie Pollie,'" Alexis Rowe, one of his zookeepers, said in the press release. "He loved to roll in fresh mulch and other natural materials laid out in his habitat.”

Grizzly bears were once widespread across western North America, but today there are only about 55,000 wild grizzly bears in North America, and most live in Alaska, according to the zoo.

“Millions of zoo guests over the years were able to connect with Yepani,” said Animal Management Supervisor Chris Lasher, who started working at the zoo the same year Yepani came, in the press release. “He participated in his own care and was usually the first to learn new tasks the keepers asked of him. Over the years, he allowed keepers to brush his teeth, listen to his heart, give him vaccines and take his blood because of the strong relationships with his keepers.”

Said Pat Simmons, zoo director, in the release: “Grizzly bears are such an iconic North American species. Yepani was a wonderful, and important, ambassador for the plight of bears in the wild and will not be forgotten.”