Edinburgh Zoo History of polar bears at Edinburgh

Bwassa

Bwassa

Well-Known Member
I know that the original polar bear enclosure is now the Steller's Sea Eagle aviary, and that Mercedes last enclosure was originally for Brown Bears.
When did the Polar Bears move into the Brown Bear enclosure ?
Did Mercedes have her cubs in the old enclosure or the last one ?
Were the windows put up on the old Polar Bear enclosure before or after the bears moved ?
Does anybody know ?
 
To the best of my memory, the last cub, born around 1990, was moved with Mercedes to the former brown bear enclosure. Barney was left in the original polar bear exhibit. Around this time the highland wildlife park did acquire a second, female european brown bear. The two resident bears did not interact well, and stayed at different ends of the hill in the exhibit at the time. I did wonder whether Edinburgh had sent their last brown bear to the HWP at the time.

I don't know at what point the cub left, or whether Barney and Mercedes were reunited again before his death, and if so in which enclosure this took place.
 
why did mercedes move to the brown bear enclosure and why did the brown bears move
 
She was moved, I assume, so that the two adult polar bears did not need to alternate using the outdoor exhibit while the cub was present. I have no idea whether this was done with the previous cub - I would think not, as there would have still been brown bears at Edinburgh at the time.

I am not aware of why, or how Brown bears came to leave Edinburgh zoo, but I think it was before the HWP was acquired by them. However, I still suspect that was where any went, as I am sure I read IZN reports of a new female being mixed with the existing one and the two using separate ends of the enclosure to avoid eachother.

Does anyone have any recollection of brown bears at the HWP in the 80s/90s?
 
I would assume they died of old age, unless there was a decision to move them out of the collection, in which case I would suspect they ended up at either Blair Drummond or Camperdown...
 
In searching for your answer I also stumbled on what appears to be a captive grizzly bear kept privately in Scotland which died in 2000, named 'Hercules'. I can't quite believe it was a grizzly, if so it would surely have been the last one in the UK by many years, can anyone confirm this?

BBC News | SCOTLAND | Movie giant Hercules dies

The individual mentioned was born at the HWP in 1974. What I find confusing is that the last bear at the HWP was called Mary, who died also in 2000 aged 33, was reportedly the mother of the 'famous grizzly' Hercules, mentioned in the above link. I am pretty sure the last brown bear at Edinburgh zoo was a female and joined 'Mary' at the HWP for a while.
 
I remember Hercules, he made a few personal appearances around the country as well as a bear wrestling act he had with his owner Andy Robin.
I, along with millions of others were gripped when Hercules escaped from his owner, whilst filming a commercial for Kleenex in the Outer Hebrides, he was found over a month later.

BBC ON THIS DAY | 13 | 1980: Missing Scottish bear is found
 
Hercules was certainly a very large brown bear . I do not know if he was a true N. American Grizzly .

The Cameron Loch Lomond Wildlife Park , opened in 1972 as a Bear Park , was reported by Anthony Smith in his 1977 'Animals on View' as having Brown Canadian , Brown European and Grizzly bears together in one enclosure . They were also reported as having Himalayan and Black Canadian bears in a second enclosure . I am pretty certain that they also had Polar bears at one time , though these were said to be very tricky to manage in a drive-through ! This being the case perhaps Hercules was the son of one of these Scottish Grizzly bears ?
 
Were there actually polar bears in a drive-through reserve at Loch Lochmond? Were they mixed with other species or held separately?
 
The Polar Bears were in a drive through enclosure by themselves.

I have heard the story from several sources that the idea was abandoned after the bears succeeded in over-turning a car and tried to drag out one of the occupants.
 
This is an amazing story! Was he kept in a private zoo like Heythrope or as a single 'pet" are there any more bears in private hands in the UK now? apart from Jim Clubb?
 
I would really like to see some photos of loch lochmond, I can't actually believe there was a drive-through polar bear exhibit there, that's incredible. Out of interest, what sort of barrier kept them in, and what was the enlcosure like? I would imagine it to be quite pioneering in one sense, given that all other polar bears in the UK at the time were held in concrete grottoes.
 
I once went to meet Hercules when he used to travel round with his owner Andy Robin in a converted bus (he was in a section at the back) - it might have been at the highland show? I remember when he escaped and I think it showed when he was re-captured him being lifted in a net by a helicopter after he was tranquilised. He lived out his retirement with his owner in Glendevon, Perthshire and I heard he had his own swimming pool. He was treated more or less as a pet by his owner who looked after him well.
I think the last brown bear from Edinburgh Zoo was Molly and she was moved to Blairdrummond where I think she recently died?
 
the female brown bear from hwp went to camperdown but can't remember actual dates would have to look over her history
 
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Hercules was quarantined at Edinburgh Zoo in 1984/85 - i.e. he was not born at Highland (there was no mention of him being a Grizzly in the annual report).

The following Polar Bears have lived at Edinburgh during my lifetime:

Jim
Male born early 1940s
Died 1976

Queenie
Female born 1952
Died 1975

Nanuk and Anouska
Females born 1976 in Canada
Arrived at Edinburgh 1976 (via Toronto Zoo)
Both died December 1982 from unknown causes

Barney
Male born 29.11.1976 at Whipsnade (Amos x Mosa).
Arrived at Edinburgh 10.11.1977
Died 1996

Mercedes
Female born 1979/80 in Canada
Arrived at Edinburgh 1984
Transferred to Highland WP 2009

To-nuik/Minty
Male born November 1988 at Edinburgh (Barney x Mercedes)
Transferred to Antwerp March 1990

Ohoto
Male born 1991 at Edinburgh (Barney x Mercedes)
Transferred to Japan 1993

The two Brown Bears who fell out at Highland were two females named Mary and Molly - Molly was transferred down in Edinburgh in 1993 - she left in 1995 (to Camperdown?) and Mary died in 2000 aged 33.
 
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Does anyone know of the current situation with regard to To-nuik and Ohoto?
I think I read somewhere that To-nuik died at Antwerp, is that correct?
 
When Mary died, there were some press reports that she was the mother of Hercules.....if Hercules was quarantined in Edinburgh in 1984 that would suggest it was a different animal (perhaps given the same name to capitalise on the original's notoriety?) as there were press reports of a trained bear going missing in Scotland in 1980.
 
orang110 said:
the female brown bear from hwp went to camperdown but can't remember actual dates would have to look over her history
Click to expand...

Depending on which bear you are referring to, I am pretty sure this is NOT true.

The two bears at Camperdown are Comet (male, b.4/1/86, Edinburgh, arr.13/5/87) and Star (female, b.26/12/87, HWP, arr.8/6/89).

The only other bear to be housed at Camperdown was Jeremy who preceeded Comet and Star.
 
Hercules has his own Wikipedia page! - LINK

If you google "hercules bear scotland" there are lots of links.

The 1984 Edinburgh reference is odd as he is casually mentioned by name, as though anyone reading would know the animal. Perhaps it was not really quarantine, but a temporary stopover.
 
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