Arturo was born in 1985, and died on July 3, 2016.

He was a polar bear living in Mendoza Zoological Park in Mendoza, Argentina, the only polar bear living in the country.

Arturo was born in the United States and transferred to Argentina in 1993.

Arturo’s mate was a female named Pelusa, died of cancer in 2012.

The living conditions of the cage polar resided in were controversial, as temperatures reach up to 40°C in Argentina, and the pool in Arturo’s cage was only 20 inches deep.

However, the animal rights activists had, in response, dubbed Arturo the “world’s saddest animal” and promoted a petition to have him relocated to Assiniboine Park Zoo, a zoo in Winnipeg, Canada.

That petition was created by Laura Morales of Hamilton, Ontario.

The petition received considerable attention after the hashtag #Freearturo began trending on Twitter.

The people that Support of the petition also noted that a polar bear died in Buenos Aires in December 2012 due to excessive heat, and argued that Arturo exhibited symptoms of depression and other mental health problems.

Since July 19, 2014, the petition had over 400,000 signatures and had been endorsed by Newt Gingrich and Cher.

The Assiniboine Park Zoo responded that while they would’ve gladly accepted Arturo there, they did not have the authority to do so unless Argentina agreed to transfer him there and that the Mendoza zoo could not supply the necessary medical records to make such a trip possible.

At Mendoza Zoo, the director Gustavo Pronotto, on July 24, 2014, told the Associated Press that Arturo was too old to be moved to Canada.

The People also advocated for Arturo to be moved to Canada on the internet, using the Facebook and Twitter hashtag #FreeArturo.

Some activists associated with the Free Arturo USA/Canada provided a translation of a death announcement from the zoo’s official website, on July 3, 2016.

Arturo passed away at 31 years old.