"You can see he's going crazy:" Story of Arturo, the "world's saddest animal" will break your heart

ARGENTINA (WITI) -- His story will break your heart. Arturo is a polar bear living at a zoo in South America. He's been called the "world's saddest animal."

Arturo is said to have been depressed since his long-time friend, Pelusa, died two years ago.

Arturo now sits in an enclosure at the Mendoza Zoo in Argentina, where temperatures reach up to 104 degrees.

The polar bear reportedly exhibits abnormal behavior -- including tilting his head and showing his teeth while pacing back and forth for several hours a day.



Arturo has been at the zoo for decades -- and now, animal rights activists are working to get him moved to a zoo that can offer cooler conditions.

The Mendoza Zoo has reportedly rejected an effort to move Arturo to Canada. Zoo officials say they don't believe Arturo can survive the two-day trip.

Zoo officials say Arturo is in good condition -- saying the life expectancy of a polar bear is just over 20 years. In captivity, polar bears can live to 30. Arturo is 29.

There are several online campaigns dedicated to helping Arturo.

Greenpeace has gathered 160,000 signatures.

A Razoo.com "Reddit" campaign has raised over $5,000.

A Change.org campaign has received over 30,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, an Argentinian professor who teaches in Canada says: “You can see he is going crazy. He moves the way polar bears do when they are suffering a lot of stress.”