Adieu lovely Larissa

Larissa in Karlsruhe

                                                      Larissa

Larissa would have been 36 years old this December, most likely the oldest polar bear on the planet. The longtime companion of Vitus suffered from the plagues of old age, and died on July 10 in Neumünster Zoo in Germany. Larissa and Vitus lived together in Karlsruhe for 14 years before they moved together to Neumünster in 2017, where they enjoyed each others' company for nine more years.

                                     

                                       Vitus, Larissa and Nika in Karlsruhe

Larissa was born to Mien and Theo in Rotterdam Zoo on December 5, 1990. She moved to Paris when she was almost two years old, and then after about a year to der Wilhelma in  Stuttgart where she lived for ten years. She came to Karlsruhe in 2003 where three year old Vitus was already living. Rounding out the longtime trio was Nika, same age as Vitus. It was expected that this trio would restart the polar bear breeding reputation of Zoo Karlsruhe, but these three beautiful bears never did produce any cubs, and later it was found that Vitus could not father cubs. 

                                   Larissa on the left, Nika on the right

Larissa's mother Mien later gave birth in Rotterdam to a son named Taco, half brother of Larissa. Taco later became well known for his poor living conditions in Chile, which is not a suitable place for a polar bear. He passed away in Santiago at the age of 19. Larissa had no other relatives.  

 

Larissa on the left, Nika on the right, were close buddies.

Larissa and Nika had quite a strong bond of friendship, and sought to be near one another. When Larissa and Vitus retired to Neumünster in 2017, leaving Nika behind, it was probably hard on all three.

Vitus and his girls, Larissa and Nika

Nika, still in Karlsruhe, died in 2019 of a wound on her leg, a wound that would not heal. 

                      Nika on the left, while Larissa lounges on the right

Sometimes the three of them would chase each other around, play and pretend to fight.  

Now with Nika gone in 2019 and Larissa last week, it is just Vitus left of this happy trio. He is still in Neumünster, but all alone there, most likely swimming his laps as he loves to do. He will be 26 this winter.

Larissa as I last saw her in Neumünster, she was separated behind a barrier that day. 

              Nika top, and Larissa, hiding her nose in her cute paws.

    My friend Pim told me how to tell them apart, that Larissa looked older, was more round and fluffy than Nika, and had darker fur. 

                               The round fluffy lady Larissa 

A sad farewell to a sweet lady bear. The oldest polar bear in the world.