ASHEBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Zoo said goodbye to one of its beloved grizzly bears, Yepani.
The zoo says Yepani died Wednesday, September 18 after experiencing symptoms of intervertebral disk disease. As a result, the staff made the decision to humanely put him to rest. He lived at the NC Zoo for 25 years, and they believe he was around 28 years old.
Yepani was the first grizzly bear to call the NC Zoo home. He arrived in November 1994 from the Woodland Park Zoo in Oregon. He was originally known as a "nuisance bear" from Yellowstone National Park, meaning he lost his fear of humans because he started to associate people as suppliers of food. He would steal coolers and backpacks from campers.
The zoo says unfortunately, bears like Yepani usually end up being euthanized because of this human-bear conflict. However, Yepani was given the chance to live a long and healthy life at the NC Zoo.
Yepani's name means "Autumn" in the Native American Shoshone dialect because of the time of year he arrived.
His zookeepers will remember him as one of the smaller grizzlies, but with a might personality. They called him Little Bear, Teacup Bear, and Rollie Pollie.