The Topeka Zoo has announced that Ho Ho the Sun Bear has died. Ho Ho was born October 19th, 1989 at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and was believed to be the oldest Sun Bear in North America. He has been at the Topeka Zoo since 2017, after being at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Ho Ho was a star on social media and people traveled from different states to visit him, and even sent him birthday cards on his 35th birthday. Zookeepers made Ho Ho’s 35th birthday decorations to fit the presidential theme, as a way to honor his age eligibility to “run for office”.
Sun bears are native to Southeast Asia and are naturally shy and reclusive, although Ho Ho was friendly and outgoing and would be seen frequently playing in his enclosure. Sun bears are an endangered species as the low land forests in Asia are disappearing at a rapid rate in recent years.
