Gus (click here) —the Central Park Zoo's polar bear, who became a symbol of the stress of living in New York—has died.
The bear, 27, was euthanized Tuesday, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. The bear had been "exhibiting abnormal feeding behavior with low appetite and difficulty chewing and swallowing his food," and veterinarians found a "large, inoperable tumor in his thyroid region." Gus became something of a symbol of the stresses of living in New York City in the mid-90s.
Not long after arriving in New York in 1988 after being born in 1985 in Toledo, Gus' habit of swimming laps back and forth in his pool had zoo-goers worried and got him labeled the "bipolar bear." In 1994, an animal psychologist was brought in to treat Gus. "Gus, insists Allison Power, the zoo spokeswoman, 'is actually healthy. It's just a mild neurosis,'" John Kifner wrote in the New York Times in July of that year. "JUST A MILD NEUROSIS? CALL YOURSELF A NEW YORKER AND ALL YOU GOT IS A MILD NEUROSIS?"...
