FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:

June 30, 2014 Sam Glatt, PR Representative

Phone: (301) 543 0945
Cell: (301) 910 8610
Email: sglatt711@gmail.com

Prized Polar Bear Homer Dead at 16
BALTIMORE, Md. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimores prized panda, Homer, died today.
Zookeeper Sara Getty found Homer floating in the Polar Bear Watch exhibit pool at 7 a.m. after his
feeding. Two other bears were removed from the area: 9-year-old male Yukon and 10-year-old female
McKenzie. The area is currently being monitored by zoo staff.
Homer was a very curious and playing polar bear, Getty said. We will miss him terribly.
Zoo director Chris P. Bacon promises that an investigation will occur in order to determine the
exact cause of death.
Animal welfare and the preservation of species are our primary goals at the zoo, Bacon said.
Senior staff veterinarian Dr. Shanda Lear backs up Bacons promise, ensuring that a full medical
investigation will occur.
-MORE-
The zoo will perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death, Lear said. The results could
take weeks to complete however, following the recent deaths of two other animals at the Zoo.
The Zoo is accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), assuring excellent
care for animals, a great experience for visitors and a better future for all living things.
Polar bears have thrived at the Zoo since 1985, and we take pride in our exhibit that allows the
bears the engage in natural behaviors. The Zoo promises that the investigation will be completed as
quickly as possible, and that the results will be reported to the public.
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Contact
Sam Glatt, PR Representative: (301) 910 8610
The Story of the Zoo (Also on our website at www.marylandzoo.org)
The Baltimore Zoo was created by act of the Maryland state legislature on April 7, 1876. (Its name was
changed to The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in 2004.) It is the third oldest zoo in the country, behind
Philadelphia (1873) and Cincinnati (1874). It actually had its beginnings as early as 1862, when the first
of many citizens gave animals (the first being 4 swans) to Druid Hill Park for public display.
Today the 160-plus acre zoo property is owned by the City of Baltimore and leased to the State of
Maryland. The Maryland Zoological Society, established in 1967, operates the Zoo under a lease
agreement with the state. The Zoological Society assumed full management of the Zoo in 1984.
Currently the Zoos animal collection encompasses more than 1,500 birds, mammals, amphibians and
reptiles, representing nearly 200 species. Animals are displayed in natural settings replicating their
native habitats.
Polar Bear Watch, the Zoos new state-of-the-art exhibit about life on the edge of the Arctic, features an
authentic Tundra Buggy from which visitors can watch Alaska and Magnet cavort in and out of the
water. At our camel ride exhibit, visitors get up close and personal with our favorite humped animals. Be
sure to take a ride on the back of one of these incredible creatures. Visitors learn about animals in their
own backyard, as well as those in more exotic locales, when they take a trek through the Maryland
Wilderness, home to the award-winning Childrens Zoo, or embark on an African Journey.
Founded in 1876, The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is the third oldest zoo in the United States and is
internationally known for its contributions in conservation and research. More than 1,500 animals are
represented in the Zoos varied natural habitat exhibits in areas such as Polar Bear Watch, the Maryland
Wilderness and the African Journey.