May 7, 2018
ASIA / PACIFIC
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3
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TROPICAL BEAR. Inuka, the world’s first polar bear born in the tropics, swims in his enclosure at the Sin-
gapore Zoo in Singapore in this May 29, 2013 file photo. Inuka was euthanized recently. The 27-year-old bear
suffered from age-related ailments including arthritis, and his limbs became too weak to support his more than
1,100-pound frame. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
Summer Run
Singapore euthanizes 27-year-
old polar bear born in tropics
By Annabelle Liang
The Associated Press
S
INGAPORE — Inuka, the world’s
first polar bear born in the tropics,
has been euthanized by the
Singapore Zoo, officials said.
The 27-year-old bear suffered from
age-related ailments including arthritis,
and his limbs became too weak to support
his more than 1,100-pound frame.
The zoo said this resulted in injuries to
its abdomen and paws that did not respond
well to weeks of intensive treatment.
A team of veterinarians and keepers
decided not to revive the bear after a
thorough health check was performed.
“Looking at all the symptoms, it is quite
clear that from ... Inuka’s point of view, he
would have been suffering quite a fair bit
of discomfort and pain,” said Cheng
Wen-Haur, deputy chief executive of
Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which runs
most of the country’s zoos.
“So we made the only right call that we
can make under the situation,” he added.
Male polar bears typically live for 15 to
18 years in the wild and about 25 years in
captivity, the zoo said.
Inuka was born in December 1990. In
recent months, his health had been on a
steady decline.
Last month the zoo said Inuka might be
euthanized if a medical examination
showed he was suffering.
Visitors flocked to the zoo to catch a final
glimpse of the bear. Some left cards and
messages wishing for a speedy recovery.
Inuka was Singapore’s only remaining
polar bear — and is likely to be its last. The
zoo has said it will not keep any more polar
bears.
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British group says Asian elephants are
at risk from Chinese demand for skin
By Kaweewit Kaewjinda
The Associated Press
B
ANGKOK — A report by a British-
based conservation group says
rising Chinese demand for
products made from elephant skin is
driving poaching and posing an even
greater threat to Asia’s wild herds than the
ivory trade.
The group Elephant Family says the
threat is currently greatest in Myanmar,
but warns that the Asian elephant could
become extinct in half of the areas where it
now ranges in the region if the problem
escalates. It says the threat exceeds that
from the ivory trade because poachers are
targeting any elephant, not just those with
tusks, and threatens elephants that are
scattered in poorly protected areas.
The report’s authors say their research
shows that the elephant’s skin is ground
into powder and sold in China as a cure for
stomach ailments, as well as being
fashioned into beads for necklaces,
bracelets, and pendants.
The products are sold in physical
markets and increasingly over the
internet, where the report says sellers post
videos showing workers in backyards in
Myanmar and Laos cutting up and carving
elephant carcasses to vouch for the
authenticity of their wares.
Belinda
Stewart-Cox,
Elephant
Family’s director of conservation, told
reporters at a news conference that from
the time the group started monitoring in
2014, there has been “a major ramping up
of the advertising, the promotional
pitches, and the apparent sales.”
She said it seems as if “there are
marketers and profiteers behind this
looking to ratchet up what has, I think,
NEW DANGER. In this February 16, 2018 file
photo provided by conservation group Elephant Fam-
ily, skin stripped off an elephant carcass is seen in
Myanmar. A report by the British-based conservation
group says rising Chinese demand for products made
from elephant skin is driving poaching and posing an
even greater threat to Asia’s wild herds than the ivory
trade. (Klaus Reisinger/Compass Films via AP)
long been a very, very minor incidental or
local market trade of no great scale, or no
scale that was threatening, anyways.”
Researchers identified 50 individual
Chinese traders selling through social-
media forums. They say labels are printed
in Chinese, prices are quoted in Chinese
currency, and sales online are conducted in
Mandarin.
The report — “Skinned: The Growing
Appetite for Asian Elephants” — also says
China’s State Forestry Administration has
apparently licensed some products that
contain elephant skin.
“At a time when China has shown
commitment to ending its domestic trade
in elephant ivory, it would be troubling
and perverse to find that, at the same time,
it is creating a new, legal demand for
elephant skin products,” it said.
Stewart-Cox said her organization has
reached out to Chinese officials and has
worked closely with Myanmar officials to
Continued on page 9
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