It is interesting to note that in the Autumn 2020 issue of Zoo Grapevine & International Zoo News, there is a full review of Pafos Zoo (visit was in February 2020) with a lot of details about the facility. There is mention of the addition of white rhinos and sun bears to the collection, but more than two years have gone by and those species are still not at the zoo. Is Covid causing the delays? European turmoil?
@snowleopard It's the same issue with the giraffes, with 2.1 supposedly arriving from Africa for the past couple of years. In fact I saw the sun bear exhibit under construction almost four years ago now!
I think it's a combination of Pafos trying to assemble the funds (they're still quite a small zoo), the fact that Cyprus isn't exactly the easiest place to ship a large animal, being a small island in the Mediterranean and the impact of Covid. But for sure this zoo does have additional issues on top of those experienced by others given location etc.
Thanks for the detailed response! Is this a brand-new exhibit for sun bears (because it doesn't look that impressive), or a converted existing enclosure?
@snowleopard Oh it's larger than it looks in the photo, this only shows about half and I'm frustrated that I didn't get a better pic. But yes, it is brand-new as far as I can remember. I seem to only recall a couple of small aviaries in its stead beforehand so still quite the upgrade.
