Here's more..
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Paint the polar bear purple and the
crowds will come.
That seems to be the lesson a zoo in Mendoza has learned, after its
23-year-old bear Pelusa was sprayed with an antiseptic spray that
turned her normally white fur a dark shade of violet.
The unusual color a temporary side effect of the treatment for
dermatitis has turned the aging bear into a minor celebrity in
Argentina and prompted thousands of schoolchildren and tourists to
make their way to the Jardin Zoologico de Mendoza in the western
city beneath the snow-capped Andes.
"We never thought she would get all the attention she's now
receiving," veterinarian Alberto Duarte told The Associated Press
when reached by telephone in Mendoza, 640 miles west of Buenos
Aires. "We've had calls from Spain and e-mails from around the
world asking about the bear."
The newspaper Los Andes, of Mendoza, reported that Pelusa's new
look has turned her into the zoo's most popular attraction,
surpassing giraffes Tommy and Belen.
The spray applied to Pelusa is similar to one used by pediatricians
to treat children's scraped knees or lab technicians to stain
micro-organisms for examination under microscopes.
Pelusa, a 395-pound bear has been temporarily placed in a cage
because of the treatment, and is separated from her mate, Arturo.
She is also kept back a distance from the public.
The separation, Duarte said, was needed to keep Pelusa from taking
her regular plunge into an icy pool of water at the polar bear
compound. That would have washed away the medicine prematurely, he
said.
The isolation has not seemed to bother Pelusa but it has left
Arturo, a 16-year-old male almost double the weight of his mate, a
bit grumpy, Duarte said.
After all, the two who have been together for years have been
kept apart for 20 days.
"The only one a bit anxious is Arturo, but they'll be back together
soon," Duarte said. "Pelusa's condition is improving and in one
more week we will stop with the antiseptic and she'll again be able
to take her normal baths."
He added that once Pelusa begins to swim again, "she will lose her
violet color" quickly.
Until then, though, she'll have to endure the crowds peering into
her pen and possibly even the occasional paparazzi looking to snap
a shot or two
