Zero the polar bear, who once lived at the Milwaukee County Zoo, has passed away

MILWAUKEE -- Officials with the Milwaukee County Zoo say Zero the polar bear has passed away. Zero was 26 years old.

The following message was posted to the Milwaukee County Zoo's Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon, January 13th.



You may recall, back in October of 2008, Zero fell into a deep moat surrounding his enclosure at the Milwaukee County Zoo. He fell while playing with a plastic toy. He was not hurt. The polar bear refused to climb out, and the story got international attention when the world seemingly went on "Zero Watch."

Zero was lifted from the moat inside a crate that he was lured into after 18 days in the moat.

Zero was sedated with tranquilizer darts, a team of people went down into the moat and rolled Zero onto a cargo net, and then pulled him into the crate. He was then lifted out of the moat, inside the crate, using a crane.