Sun bears die at Liege airport?

[jwer]

According to Dutch media, 9 sun bears were on transit from Peru to Indonesia and got stuck at Liege Airport (Belgium).

The plane from Qatar airways had to stay due to snow and through negligence, 3 bears died from the cold inside the plane. The Belgium authorities have announced an investigation.

I was just wondering, hoe come 9 sun bears ended up in Peru and where would they have been held? I visited the two major zoos in Lima in 2012 and can’t recall any sun bears (but perhaps that’s just my memorie).They would also seem an unlikely candidate to keep for zoos in south america?

 

[zoomaniac]

Very weird indeed. Could it be that they were mixed up with Moon Bears (= Asian Black bears)??

 

[KevinB]

This article by HLN states that the bears are/were sloth bears.

That said, HLN isn't always the most trustworthy Belgian newspaper.

Drie beren sterven van de kou in vliegtuig op luchthaven van Luik

In any case this is a very weird and disturbing story.

 

[jwer]

Wouldn’t asiatic black bears or even sloth bears be just as odd to have ended up in Peru? I need to check my notes, but did any zoo in Lima have either bear in their collection?

I can only recall spectacled bears, the most likely candidate for the transport imo.

 

[zoomaniac]

@jwer: Agree. The reason I came up with Asiatic Black Bears was because "moon" seemed to me the closest term to "sun" and because ABB are much easier to bred then Sun Bears (or even Sloth Bears) outside of their native range. However, regarding to @KevinB research, they seem to be Sloth Bears...

 

[jwer]

A different Dutch news platform also mentions sloth bears. The first news platform still mentions sun bears.

I’m still puzzled by either. Destination would have been Indonesia, which would make sunbears the most logical. But 9, coming out of Peru?

 

[MennoPebesma]

A different Dutch news platform also mentions sloth bears. The first news platform still mentions sun bears.

It turns out to be a mistranslation, as it is not about a species of bear at all, but about sloths.

 

[zoomaniac]

From "Sun Bears" to "Sloth Bears" to "Sloths" - interesting transformation

Wonder which Indonesian zoos ordered a big load of sloths then...

 

[jwer]

One of the Dutch media platforms also changed the news to sloths (not bears).

Sounds a lot more plausible would be nice if the media checked their facts before they posted something.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Sounds a lot more plausible would be nice if the media checked their facts before they posted something.

It was the Belgian authorities themselves who initially mentioned sloth bears. During the course of the day, they corrected their mistake.