TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Zoo announced on Facebook that well-loved polar bear Marty passed away last Thursday at the age of 24.
The Zoo says Marty was humanely euthanized after suffering from an age-related kidney disease that he was diagnosed with two years ago.
In the last few weeks, Marty's health began to decline and the Zoo's animal care experts made the difficult decision to euthanize him due to the quality of his life.
Marty came to the Zoo in 1999 and was a polar bear that many Zoo goers grew up seeing. He sired eight cubs in his lifetime.
There are an outpouring of comments on the Zoo's Facebook page sharing their condolences about Marty's passing.