SINGAPORE: He was the first person to discover Inuka when it was born. He was there when its mother Sheba died. And he was there when the end came for Singapore’s last polar bear.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) deputy head keeper Mathivanan Samy (Tony) was the closest thing to being its dad since the bear’s father Nanook died in 1995, when Inuka was five years old.
And just before the day arrived, the 60-year-old finally made peace with the inevitable parting.
“I think, yes, I’ve accepted it. At the beginning, it was too much for me,” said an emotional Mr Mathivanan. “He’s like a son to me.
“Like any other parent … you’d want to do the right thing for your child. If the child is still suffering, do you want to see that?”
With a sniffle, he added: “Of course, it saddens me. But there’s a time for everything.”
Past and present caregivers gathered around Inuka as Dr Abraham Mathew administered the final injection. (Photo: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)
That time came on Wednesday, the morning of April 25, with Inuka’s entire family of zookeepers by its side – moments the public only had a glimpse of through three photos released by the WRS.
In the 27-year-old’s final days, however, Talking Point was given exclusive access to Inuka and its Frozen Tundra home at the Singapore Zoo – and came away with a little more insight into why those who knew the bear loved it so.
ENTER ‘OUR LITTLE FRIEND’
The only polar bear born in the tropics first graced the Singapore Zoo on Dec 26, 1990. The zookeepers knew Sheba was pregnant but could not tell when the exact delivery date would be.
Mr Mathivanan, who has been with the zoo since 1982, was looking after the expectant mother then, and had just released it into the outdoor enclosure.
“She was walking out, and I went, ‘What’s that blood stain on her back?’” he recalled.
I said to myself, ‘She gave birth?’ So I closed the doors, went to the cubbing den and saw our little friend wriggling around.
A young Inuka and his mother Sheeba. (Photo: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)
The newborn cub could be carried in the palm of one hand. Full-grown Inuka weighed more than half a tonne.
The bear was cared for by different keepers over the years, but Mr Mathivanan was especially attached to it, just as he was to its mother. And he remembers how Inuka was when Sheba died in 2012.
“He’d come around and look at mummy’s den,” he said.
He knew there was something wrong when she wasn’t there. And I’d say, for about one and a half or two months, you could see it in his eyes.
‘FUSSY, SMART BEAR’
In 2016, WRS deputy head keeper Mohan Ponichamy became one of Inuka’s primary keepers. Having tended to many elderly animals in the zoo, he was familiar with the care required for the bear, which was 70-plus in human years.
One of the things he found Inuka to be was “very inquisitive”, and so it was even in the last days, when the Talking Point team visited and brought “new scents” to its home.
‘Open, Inuka’, says his keeper Mohan.
It was also known to love the limelight. As the crowds gathered this month, however, the bear did not always feel up to leaving its air-conditioned ice cave.
“We explained to them that, if he didn’t feel like coming out, if he felt like sleeping, we’d leave him alone,” said Mr Ponichamy, gesturing as he would to Inuka. “It’s okay, buddy. You just rest.”
To help the bear cope with its arthritis and ulcers in the final three weeks, a higher dosage of medication and supplements were administered. These were mixed in its food three to four times a day.
But the keepers had to hide the pills and even disguise the smell and taste by, for example, soaking them in honey.
“Sometimes he’d spit out the whole meat, and then he’d open it up to check if there was a pill,” said Mr Ponichamy, 41. “He’s a fussy, smart bear.”
The keepers had to hide his pills in his food, but Inuka wised up to this trick.
The way the pills were given had to be changed “all the time” because Inuka caught on “very fast”. And the keepers had to be patient during feeding time, as they could not let the bear skip its medication.
At one point during the weekend before Inuka’s crucial check-up, as Mr Ponichamy watched footage of the waiting crowd, his thoughts just got to him.
“Everybody loves him. Everybody knows him. And he was … when he … Sorry, when I think of all this, it’s very …” his voice trailed off.
An emotional moment for keeper Mohan Ponichamy.
NO MORE SUFFERING
Some have questioned the decision to put down the ageing polar bear. But WRS assistant director of veterinary services Abraham Mathew said his team realised that they could not help Inuka any more.
“We had been monitoring him for a couple of years. Every now and then, he was a bit more lethargic,” he said.
But over the last couple of months, we noticed that rest period – of not wanting to be so active – had increased.
Inuka spent most of his time resting in his final days.
Its teeth were wearing down. Its hearing was not as good as before. And probably because of age-related changes to its bone structure, Inuka’s gait had stiffened into a shuffle, causing abrasions on its paw pads.
Carrying its heavy weight around was “really a painful process”, and meant that the bear needed a “fairly high” dosage of painkillers every day. But the medication would eventually have taken a toll on Inuka’s other organs.
Dr Mathew said: “We wouldn’t allow him to go through that process of pain and suffering. That’s our stand on this.”
Dr Abraham Mathew.
Having had the chance to speak with those who cared for Inuka over the years, Talking Point host Steven Chia summed it up by saying: “You can see there’s clearly a connection between them.”
Since birth, Inuka captured the hearts and imagination of locals and visitors alike, becoming one of the Singapore Zoo’s icons. And to the ones who loved it the most, like Mr Mathivanan, it has given “a lot of fond memories”.
Watch the programme Talking Point here. New episodes every Thursday at 9.30pm on Mediacorp Channel 5.
In healthier times. (Photo: Wildlife Reserves Singapore)
