After writing the earlier post, I did wonder if there might have been two 'Besses', as someone commented on another old photo in this gallery that a female named Bess arrived in 1960 and then left for Basel zoo in 1982. If a bear by that name did leave in 1982, and one with the same name was buried at Chessington, it would suggest the replacement female that came from Russia as a mate for Porgy was the second 'Bess', and left the zoo via the other bear pits in 1982 once Bonnie and Clyde had arrived.
Why did Chessington replace their Polar bears before they'd passed away? Were they that hard to come by that they leapt on the opportunity to acquire Bonnie and Clyde even though that meant they had to rehome their existing pair? Do you know if Porgy ever left the zoo or did he die in the pit in this photograph?
