Kodiak Bear Dies in Zoo at Age 21

The Indianapolis Zoo has lost its third bear since November with the death of a 21-year-old male Kodiak.

Ahkiok was found dead of natural causes in his den at the zoo about 7 a.m. Tuesday, The Indianapolis Star reported Wednesday.

It’s very sad for us. He was one of the favorites at the zoo, said Judith L. Gagen, the zoo’s director of communications. A necropsy showed the cause of death as disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder in which the blood coagulates throughout the body, leading to multiple lesions on the bear’s internal organs, Gagen said.

He was an old bear and logic said this could have been a factor, said Gagen of Kodiak bears’ typical lifespan of 25 years.

In an unrelated incident, another Kodiak was euthanized because of severe degenerative joint disease last November. A polar bear died from a twisted colon two months ago at the zoo.