MIAMI – An 11-year-old sloth bear recently received a physical examination at Zoo Miami, zoo officials confirmed Friday.
Hank, a 246-pound sloth bear, was immobilized this week and transported to Zoo Miami’s Animal Hospital to have a comprehensive physical exam, according to Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill.
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Magill said the procedure is part of a “preventative medicine program and served as preparation for a move to a new habitat.”
The exam included determining Hank’s weight, collecting blood and urine and taking a series of radiographs. He also received an ultrasound of the heart, liver, and spleen, a dental exam, and an endoscopy to evaluate his gastrointestinal health, according to the zoo.
Magill also stated Hank received his rabies vaccination as well as a dewormer. The procedures were conducted by Zoo Miami Associate Veterinarian Dr. Rodney Schellbacher, with the assistance of the Animal Health and Animal Science teams.
“The results of the exam did not reveal any abnormalities, and Hank has since made a full recovery,” Magill said. “He has since been transported to a different habitat at Zoo Miami, which will give him the opportunity to exhibit his natural solitary behaviors.”
Previously, Hank was placed in a sloth bear habitat with his mating partner Keematee and their two young cubs.
Sloth bears, who are “indigenous to the moist and dry forests of the Indian subcontinent, primarily subsist on a diet of fruit and insects, particularly termites,” the Zoo stated in a news release.
Magill said Hank was born at the Smithsonian National Zoo on Dec. 19, 2012, and arrived at Zoo Miami on Nov. 30, 2016.