Zoo Wroclaw Questions: Komodo dragons, bears

[StephenUK]

I've been to Wrocław zoo several times, and I have a couple of questions about the animals there.

1. About the bears. Are there now only three female European brown bears in the zoo? zootierliste.de lists four, but that's from 2020. There are two in the big bear enclosure by the river and one (Przemisia) in a smaller enclosure down at the bottom near the road. There used to be a different bear in what is now Przemisia's enclosure, and Przemisia was in what is now the leopard enclosure (created by joining together several smaller enclosures). I am assuming that the bear who used to be in what is now Przemisia's enclosure must have died or gone to another zoo. I remember that she used to be curious about the noise that the trams made and would stand on her hind paws to try to see over the back wall of the enclosure to see what the noise was. I also remember that she had very fluffy fur.

2. Are there any Komodo dragons on display? The last time I was at Wrocław zoo (April 2023), I saw an impressive new enclosure for Komodo dragons, but no dragons! There was a sign which said something to the effect that they were working on the enclosure, although my photo of it is too blurry to make it out exactly.

 

[Arek]

Przemisia is still in her enclosure. Second female, Myszka is now in big bear enclosure together with two sisters but they use this alternately i.e. Myszka alone of both sisters.
Yes, there is one Komodo dragon on show.

 

[StephenUK]

Przemisia is still in her enclosure. Second female, Myszka is now in big bear enclosure together with two sisters but they use this alternately i.e. Myszka alone of both sisters.
Yes, there is one Komodo dragon on show.

Thanks. Whenever I've been to Wrocław zoo, I've only seen two bears in the big enclosure. So there is a third bear up there who is mostly kept off display? Do you know why that is? It's a really nice enclosure, but the bears always seem to be lying around at the front rather than exploring.

 

[Arek]

Bears don't get along with each other. Too much conflict between them. Enclosure is occupied equally by two sisters and the third bear.

 

[StephenUK]

Bears don't get along with each other. Too much conflict between them. Enclosure is occupied equally by two sisters and the third bear.

That's interesting. So do the bears go into their indoor houses when the other bear is in the outdoor enclosure? Presumably their indoor houses are also separate.

One time I arrived at the zoo just as they were letting the bears out and had a chat with their keeper. He had hidden their food all round the enclosure. Then he wound up the gate of the enclosure and out they came. I've also been at the zoo at closing time, and the bears seem to know when it's bedtime because they were standing at the gate of their indoor house waiting to be let back in.