I suspect that Sloth Bears are psychologically the wrong species for an open space like the Mappin Terraces, but all credit to the then Curator of Mammals for having the gumption to bring back bears to London, and a rare species at that.
Agree on both counts there. Himalayan Black might have been a better choice, but they could have turned out equally retiring or poor as an exhibit. Only the 'big' Brown bears make more active exhibits, and without public feeding even they might not have been as showy as they were in the past here.
It was an innovative move but sadly one that didn't really pay off.
@Pertinax, I would disagree with you. Sun bears do also make a great exhibit, if they are stimulated to forage and explore a lot and such a species should be feasible for London, being the smallest bear species and being endangered in the wild.
@Pertinax, I would disagree with you. Sun bears do also make a great exhibit, if they are stimulated to forage and explore a lot and such a species should be feasible for London, being the smallest bear species and being endangered in the wild.
I did not mention Sun Bears as I don't think they would have shown well in this exhibit either, as the area was large and viewed from a distance. I recently saw Sunbears in the new exhibit at Colchester Zoo- they didn't seem to make a particularly good exhibit IMO. As for foraging, you can only feed them so much to encourage activity- they are bound to sleep a lot of the rest of the time.
@Pertinax, at my home zoo in Arnhem the sun bears are practically always active, walking around the enclosure looking for something to eat / demolish, so that's why I thought of them.
Giant otters in an enlarged pond at the front, spectacled bears and coati behind and an Andean condor aviary coming down from the mountains, "foothills of the Andes" anybody?
