In all seriousness I am concerned by this mix of animals. However, looking back in the gallery this place seems to be a mess. Some of the earlier posts show rhinos mixed with baboons, a free range anaconda in a tropical house with free range lemurs, tapirs and capybaras mixed with these bears, and a variety of walkthrough enclosures that seem dangerous considering staff are not present. Reading some of the comments on these posts, this zoo seems dangerous with staff who often turn a blind eye to safety hazards (both for animals and humans). Has the quality of this place increased since the early 2010's? Does it remain the same? Is it worse now?
@MonkeyBat Following a change in management/ownership, the zoo is vastly improved upon the Gill years. My last visit was in 2018, and in the last 4 years, the place has become much better. A book could probably be written about all the woes and wonders of South Lakes past, but the current leaseholders are doing a very good job in improving animal welfare and enclosures across the zoo.
@MonkeyBat There was a change of management in 2017, and the zoo's overall quality and animal welfare has improved a lot since then. They don't have the anaconda any more, and the tapirs and capybaras no longer live with the bears. The rhinos have been separated from the baboons and now share an outdoor space with giraffes, zebras, nyala and wildebeest.
The monkeys and lemurs seen in this photo have access to the bear's indoor space as well, so I've always taken it to mean that the bears are so used to having little monkey-type things around them that the risk of attacks is very low.
