COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is mourning the loss of a beloved 15-year-old polar bear, Anana.
Anana started showing unusual behavior in early September, according to the zoo. An initial round of treatment didn't help Anana's condition and extensive testing did not provide a diagnosis.
The zoo said the possibility of an autoimmune syndrome could not be ruled out so they started aggressive treatment. Anana's condition initially improved but then her health declined dramatically over the last week.
The zoo decided to humanely euthanize her on Wednesday.
A complete postmortem was performed at the Ohio State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the results will be available in a few weeks.
The zoo said Anana showed no significant medical concerns before September.
Anana and her twin sister, Aurora, were born on Nov. 26, 2006 at the Toledo Zoo before moving to the Pittsburgh Zoo in 2008.
Anana's care team said they will remember her as being the best at making comfy nap spots and a "true princess" for never wanting to get on the scale to reveal her weight.
The zoo's care team provided more comments about their favorite moments with Anana on Facebook, which can be seen here.
In 2010, Anana moved to the Columbus Zoo. Anana gave birth to one living cub in November 2016.
The cub, Ameila Gray, is almost 6 years old and lives at the Oregon Zoo with Nora, who was born to Aurora in November 2015.
Anana was one of two female polar bears at the zoo to be artificially inseminated earlier this year. The zoo said there are no pregnancy tests for polar bears it would not have known if Anana was pregnant until she gave birth in November or December.