Highland Wildlife Park Mercedes

I always go on about this, but if an animal has never known a vast enclosure, its one thing to send it on to another small zoo environment, but if it was born in one of the biggest enclosures for that species anywhere, I think you have to consider the impact of moving it on to a smaller facility.

Not just with bears, I mean every time I watch the Longleat show and see young sealions being rounded up to move on to, say, Blair Drummond, I wonder why this kind of facility can't source its animals from simlar blue-paint-and-concrete auditorium-style establishments. And when London opened its Australia exhibit on the Mappins, I think bringing 20 wallabies from virtually free-roaming at Whipsnade should have been avoided when there are plenty of places with small enclosures in the UK they could have obtained wallabies from, and given them an improved, not reduced, quality of life IMO.
 
It just shows how unjust some of the assessments were by animal welfarists on Mercedes the polar bear in captivity. It looks a damn fine polar bear exhibit and I am sure it may even produce a resurgence of polar bear management and breeding in the UK. :D
 
I agree that this is an amazing and stimulating new enclosure but as some of you say above, what will become of any offspring born? The controversy still remains with keeping polar bears in captivity so will any other UK zoos want to exhibit them? I just hope they will follow in HWP'S example (lets hope Noahs ark don't consider it!)
 
We don't even know if they will be breeding them, they might replace them with brown bears, black bears or some other animal species all together. Looks like a great exhibit though :D
 
ZooLeopard said:
I agree that this is an amazing and stimulating new enclosure but as some of you say above, what will become of any offspring born? The controversy still remains with keeping polar bears in captivity so will any other UK zoos want to exhibit them? I just hope they will follow in HWP'S example (lets hope Noahs ark don't consider it!)
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Nice to have a good news story like this and a zoo constructing a interesting appropriate home for this animal. Ironically it does remind me a bit of the some of the old polar bear exhibit and Loch Lomond Bear Park.

Zoo History - Content
 
No they plan on bringing in a breeding group of polar bears after she dies. there are some very good polar bear exhibits around at the moment however and I think they will continue to improve. this exhibit is not unique despite what they are saying.

look familiar? http://www.zoochat.com/424/scandinavian-wildlife-park-polar-bear-park-102847/

http://www.zoochat.com/424/scandinavian-wildlife-park-47462/

I do feel sorry for sealions leaving Longleat I can imagine they feel very claustrophobic! This is particularly the case for elephants, some institutions are fantastic but they often end up sending their young to below standard elephant facilities.
 
I stand corrected then, polar bear cubs would be epic :)
This could lead to larger zoos like Whipsnade going back into polar bears.
 
if more UK zoos or wildlife parks can achieve this sort of standard of exhibit then I think polar bears may start to re-appear in a couple of years :)

Yes the scandanavian exhibit is a tad famililar!
 
Ash said:
I stand corrected then, polar bear cubs would be epic :)
This could lead to larger zoos like Whipsnade going back into polar bears.
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They may be getting a breeding pair, but doesn't mean they will breed. I think zoos would be stupid to go back into Polar bear keeping. Not many in the UK have the space to build one and then the climate further south is an issue compared to the highlands of Scotland.
 
I don't think the climate is that much of an issue as Zara at Heythrop seems perfectly content. It's more of a quality of enclosure which a lot of zoos wouldn't be able to replicate.
 
I dont think we will ever see a huge resurgence of polar bears in the UK as it was years ago. However I do think that one or two more collections may build for polar bears.
 
I agree with Ash, Zara seemed an incredibly content bear, and her enclosure wasn't especially large or fancy. It can be done, but it would be hard to get round the anti crowd, so similar enclosures built at places like the aforementioned Whipsnade (where the windy downs create a chilly location) would be ideal.
 
Ash said:
We don't even know if they will be breeding them, they might replace them with brown bears, black bears or some other animal species all together. Looks like a great exhibit though :D
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I think RSZZ is committed to keeping polar bears in the long term, so they will eventually aim to breed polar bear again.
 
That'll no doubt cause a stir with Born Free!

Mercedes - relocation at last!

From the end of the article:

We are now calling on the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (owners of Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park) to make a commitment not to keep any more polar bears after Mercedes.
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Born free crap! they make it out as if it was their campaigning that got her moved. From what I hear of the directors up there they take little notice of what anyone else says and do their own thing and fair bloody play to them.
 
Aaron, cheers for the updates from the park, Hoping I can get up again soon, having a membership for the zoo is fine, but from here to there is quite the distance!

From what i've seen so far, after some amazing press coverage, she's settled in nicely and looks very content.
Saying that, no matter what those bornfree loonies think, she always looked content at the Zoo, swimming in her pool with her toys having a ball.
 
I dont think that's it for Polar Beats at Edinburgh though. For the near future I would imagine it is 'it' but within the next twenty years I reckon the species will be back at Edinburgh.
 
taun said:
They may be getting a breeding pair, but doesn't mean they will breed. I think zoos would be stupid to go back into Polar bear keeping. Not many in the UK have the space to build one and then the climate further south is an issue compared to the highlands of Scotland.
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I would imagine that the majority of Zoos have the space, just not the funding.
 
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