The South lakes exhibit is pretty big, potentially I think it could be very good but it's just pretty barren and muddy. Also, I think the house only has 2, maybe 3 dens for the 5 bears, I could be wrong though.
Its these things that make it NOT a good enclosure. It should have been established with plants etc before the bears were introduced and I doubt it will ever change from what it is now. The whole concept of a mixed exhibit with Tapirs also bothers me too. I can't quite understand how SL were able to obtain five of this rare species. I do not think they will breed successfully under these conditions either.
There are things that could be done to make South Lakes' outdoor exhibit fine. I don't necessarily think they will be done (not least as one of them would be take out the tapir and capybara) but they could. The dens though are simply not adequate and would need to be massively expanded to suit the group of bears that have properly.
I personally think they should put the tapir and capybara in the old hippo/mandrill enclosure, maybe even mix them with the spider monkeys in the neighbouring enclosure.
Just think of all the unlucky bears in the world that are stuck in concrete grottoes or pits with zero natural substrate. The spectacled bear enclosures in Zurich, Chester and even Jersey are all top quality and amongst the best bear exhibits in the world.
Just think of all the unlucky bears in the world that are stuck in concrete grottoes or pits with zero natural substrate. The spectacled bear enclosures in Zurich, Chester and even Jersey are all top quality and amongst the best bear exhibits in the world.
If you've been following the comments in this thread, there are a couple of bears just 2 hours away from Chester that could do with a more suitable home.
No, sorry, you said potentially good, which is not the same.
I agree also that its unlikely they will breed under the existing stressfull conditions. Perhaps I should moderate that- they may breed and produce cubs but I can't see them being reared without any privacy.
Therefore I would like to see at least the two females which are genetically more valuable to breed from, removed to Chester. It seems an obvious solution, provided they aren't related to Chester's new male.
The whole enclosure while being very spacious was only really housed to hold 1.1 + offspring. While they don’t really use the house (which is off show) it does not have the required room to hold more than 3 adults.
