Keema, Woodland Park Zoo’s ‘curious and choosy’ grizzly bear, euthanized

Keema, a 28-year-old male grizzly bear who had lived at the Woodland Park Zoo since late 1994, was euthanized Sunday, according to the zoo.

Keema was humanely euthanized “due to a severe decline in his health,” the zoo said in a post on its blog Monday.

Keema had struggled with mobility and had been under observation for months, but “the veterinary team did not find any treatable underlying diseases,” the zoo said in its blog post.

Keema lived at the zoo with his twin brother Denali from when they were 10 months old until Denali died in late 2020. They were born at the Washington State University Bear Center on Jan. 15, 1994.

“While grizzly bears are usually solitary animals, the brothers had lived together their entire lives and were only able to get along because they had always been together and there were no female bears present,” the blog post said.

In a Twitter post, the zoo said Keema was a “curious and choosy” bear who liked grapes and honey and rolling in coffee grounds.

“Keema lived a long, enriching life thanks to the dedication and expertise of his animal keepers and our animal health team, as well as the generous support by our donors, members and community,” Kevin Murphy, senior director of animal care at Woodland Park Zoo, said in a statement included in the blog post. “Further, these majestic bears were iconic ambassadors for grizzlies in the state of Washington as they helped to put the spotlight on the importance of coexisting with bears and other wildlife both in urban and remote areas.”