WATCH: Polar Bear Gets Medical Check-Up

Animal care staff with the Chicago Zoological Society this week did routine medical check on a 12-year-old polar bear at the Brookfield Zoo to extract a sample for artificial insemination.

Thursday, April 25th 2019, 10:03 pm

By: News On 6

Animal care staff with the Chicago Zoological Society this week did routine medical check on a 12-year-old polar bear at the Brookfield Zoo to extract a sample for artificial insemination.

The team performed the exam, which included a CT scan and medical imaging of internal organs, to ensure the bear named Hudson was in good health.

The society says a new CT scan table that can hold up to roughly 2,200 pounds was donated to the facility in 2016.

The table made the medical exam possible for Hudson, who weighs over 1,000 pounds.

After confirming the viability of the semen collected from the bear, a sample was transported to a Wisconsin zoo to use with one of its polar bears. Officials say another sample was used to inseminate a bear at Brookfield Zoo.

Many experts say climate change and the loss of arctic sea ice are an increasing threat to wild polar bear populations.

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