Northumberland Zoo mourns loss of oldest raccoon, Bert

The team at Northumberland Zoo has said goodbye to Bert the racoon - one of its first ever residents - who has died at the age of 13.

Described by those who knew him best as "super, super sweet", Bert moved to the zoo in 2010.

He spent the first nine months of his life as a domestic pet, before his owners realised "that was the worst idea" and handed him to the zoo.

The zoo said Bert had "touched the hearts of so many over the years".

In a Facebook tribute, Northumberland Zoo said raccoons "may appear cute" but are "incredibly destructive, possessive and can be very aggressive".

Staff said they had noticed Bert was "slowing down quite significantly" so took him to the vets.

It was discovered his heart was failing and his lung capacity was at 10%.

It was decided to put him to sleep under anaesthetic.

Curator Maxine Bradley said raccoons lived for about two years in the wild - so 13 was "an incredibly good age".

She described Bert as "an amazing ambassador for the species".

Northumberland Zoo is still home to nine raccoons, with what it said was "one of the largest enclosures in Europe".

Fans of the late raccoon paid tribute to him on Facebook, describing him as "a special little guy".

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