Spondyloarthropathy in a captive female brown bear (Ursus arctos)

Spondyloarthropathy is a form of arthritis that affects spine, especially sacroiliac joint leading to the severe, chronic pain and over time, can cause complete fusion of the sacroiliac (SI) joint. The present report describes a case of spondyloarthropathy in a captive female brown bear (Ursus arctos) from Sarajevo zoo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Morphological inspection and radiograph of the macerated sacral and coxal bone specimen was performed. Both examinations showed complete bilateral symmetrical fusion of the sacral and coxal bone with syndesmophyte formation. Animals residing in zoos are kept under specific conditions which lead to inactivity and possible mobility problems caused by some sort of spondyloarthropathy.