Sun Bears In European Zoos?

A

agnmeln

Well-Known Member
Hi all, I am hoping that somebody can help me to fill in some blanks regarding sun bears in European collections. I am currently trying to visit as many zoos as possible that hold this species, however the rough ballpark figure I have got from Cologne Zoo (where the studbook is held) of 51 animals across Europe tells me that I definitely have some blanks to fill in!

So, this is what I have so far, any contributions at all I would be very grateful for!

The zoos I have visited I know for sure:

UK:
Edinburgh: Somnang & Rotana
Belfast: Indera & Bora
Chester: Toni & Milli
Colchester: JoJo & SreyYa

Spain:
Madrid: Teddy & Anabell

The Netherlands:
Burgers Zoo Arnhem: Frodo, Bunga & Bola
Ouwehands Dierenpark Rhenen: Cindy & Linh
Beekse Bergen: I don’t believe they still have sun bears as they are not present on the map, did Kim and Anja pass away?

Germany:
Berlin Tierpark: Johannes & Tina
Allwetterzoo Münster: Josefine (aware that Klaus passed away approximately seven months ago)
Cologne: Chica, Bali, Charlotte, Gula (aware that Bao passed away approximately four years ago)

Now this is where I begin to get stuck!

Switzerland:
Basel: Latinka only now?

Czech Republic:
Usti Nad Labem: No idea of numbers?
Decin: No idea of numbers?
Hodonin: No idea of numbers?
Olomouc: No idea of numbers?
Jihlava: Adam & Aja

France:
St Martin La Plaine: Sai & Ipoh
Tregomeur: No idea of numbers?
Bassin D’Arcachon: I don’t believe they still have sun bears as they are not present on the map, so where did Dara and Lailani go to?

Poland:
Łódź: I don’t believe they still have sun bears, as they are not present on the map?

Hungary:
Sosto: I don’t believe they still have sun bears as they are not present on the map?

Please can anybody let me know which bears I have missed and also which locations I have missed? I am aware that I am quite a way out here. I have tried to get some information previously but it is not easy!

This would be such a great help to me in planning my next trips, so thank you in advance for anything you can contribute, however big or small!
 
The following site is very useful as far as working out where a species is kept within European collections; it is reliant on user updates, so can sometimes be a little out of date and the level of detail listed for each holding can vary, but it is nonetheless an invaluable tool:

ZootierlisteHomepage

As far as the Malayan Sun Bear - the only subspecies held in European collections - is concerned, the current status quo is as follows; I will annotate each listing with when ZTL was most recently updated or (in those cases where I have seen the individuals listed more recently) how recently I know the information to have been the case:

Germany

Berlin (Tierpark Friedrichsfelde) - 1,1,0 - 2015
Köln (Zoologischer Garten) - 1,3,0 - 2016
Münster (Allwetterzoo) - 0,1,0 - 2017

Croatia

Zagreb (Zoo) - 0,1,0 - 2012

Czech Republic

Decin (Zoo) - 1,0,0 - 2016
Hodonin (Zoo) - 0,1,0 - 2016
Jihlava (Zoo) - 1,1,0 - 2017
Olomouc (Zoo) - 0,1,0 - 2016
Usti (Zoo) - 2,5,0 - 2012

France:

Romanèche-Thorins (Touroparc) - ????
Saint Martin la Plaine (Zoo) - 1,1,0 - 2016
Trégomeur (Zoo) - 2,1,0 - 2015

Hungary:

Nyíregyháza (Sóstó Zoo) - 0,2,0 - 2009

Netherlands:

Arnhem (Burgers Zoo) - 1,2,0 - 2016
Rhenen (Ouwehands Dierenpark) - 0,2,0 - 2016

Poland:

Lodz (Zoo) - 0,1,0 - 2017

Spain:

Madrid (Zoo/Aquarium) - ????

Switzerland:

Basel (Zoo) - 0,1,0 - 2017

UK

Chester (Zoo) - 1,1,0 - 2017
Colchester (Zoo) - 1,1,0 - 2017
Belfast (Zoo) - 1,1,0 - 2017
Edinburgh (Zoo) - 2,0,0 - 2017


beccasunbear said:
I don’t believe they still have sun bears as they are not present on the map?
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Always risky to assume that a species is no longer held at a collection merely because it cannot be found on a map - especially given the "quality" of zoo maps these days :P
 
Thanks for this - your numbers are really helpful! I got the basis of my information from Zootierliste originally, but then found after visiting various zoo websites to check their species lists and zoo maps that there appeared to have been many changes and updates which were not reflected on the website (Zagreb, Romanèche-Thorins, Łódź and Sosto being my main conecerns) although I take your point about not taking the maps too literally - I usually tend to use the map as a guide to confirm my suspicions if I can’t find anything at all about sun bears on the species list.

Incidentally, this is the case with Zagreb and Romanèche-Thorins (which I forgot to mention earlier along with Łódź and Sosto).

I am still confused over Beekse-Bergen and Bassin D’Arcachon, though! They don’t seem to have ever been listed anywhere as holding sun bears, although I know as a fact that they have at some point.

I would be devastated to miss a collection that still has them in, but I would also be devastated to spend time and money travelling somewhere only to find out that I won’t see sun bears after all.
 
Always risky to assume that a species is no longer held at a collection merely because it cannot be found on a map - especially given the "quality" of zoo maps these days :p
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Certainly true, but in this case correct :D. The sloth bears now inhabit the (converted) sun bear enclosure at Beekse Bergen. I believe both sun bears passed away.
 
Thank you for this. I knew that Kim and Anja were a pair of old ladies, so I suspected it would be the case.
 
korhoen said:
Certainly true, but in this case correct
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You'll note I was saying this as a general remark based on the fact BSB said this about several collections :p as it happens ZTL does list Beekse-Bergen as a former holding, but seemingly does not list Bassin D’Arcachon as a holding at all. The site lists the collection as La Teste, by the by, but as noted Sun Bear is not listed even under this name.
 
Thank you for confirming about Beekse-Bergen.

I know the two females from Sosto (Dara and Lailani) moved to Bassin D’Arcachon, so I do believe that Sosto no longer has sun bears in its collection.

However, the fact that the species isn’t listed for Bassin D’Arcachon at all is a bit strange. I do believe that this zoo no longer has them within its collection, as I have read that there are three species of bear held here and their website currently lists three other species with sun bears not included.

I would love to know where the two girls have ended up, though!

I have checked in depth regarding Zagreb (thanks to your reminder here), and it seems that there is actually an old female there (as of 13.02.2017). So that’s definitely another trip to add to my list!

I feel the evidence of there still being a sun bear present in Łódź is beginning to stack up (Zootierliste’s update being so recent - 2017 - is quite encouraging along with a post I saw elsewhere on this forum stating that the enclosure was still marked out for sun bears this year) so I will dig a bit further but I am starting to feel that a trip here may well be on the cards too!

For Romanèche-Thorins the information is so sparse I just do not have any leads at all. I really do not know what to make about this one! Going to have to really scour the archives to get a definite answer on this one!
 
That Usti number looks very unlikely, I suspect, based on holding space and my own recollection of what I saw, that, at least in 2016, they had 0.0.2.
 
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Looking at the ZTL supplementary information, the individual at Decin came from Usti in September 2016, as did another which was no longer held by 32/12/2016 and presumably died.

So at least two individuals left Usti subsequent to the last ZTL update to the collection's listings.
 
Usti is right now at 1.2.0 (breeding pair + their daughter (born 2011)), in their latest annual report, they also confirm moving old male to Děčín and death of the last remainig old female from the original group they had there.

The annual report also mentions critical situation in Sun Bear breeding, stating that there are only 5 breeding pairs left in Europe.

Otherwise, the numbers for Czech Republic should fit, although, I can´t really confirm Olomouc and Hodonín as these two females are really really old and they can die basically at any moment right now. (I´m not even sure if they are still alive, neither Olomouc or Hodonín are really active when it comes to communication with public about daily news.)
 
Colchester, Chester, Jihlava, Usti and St Martin La Plaine all hold breeding pairs I think? Although I do not know anything about the bears at Tregomeur to comment on their situation and to rule them out for sure.

With regards to Hodonin and Olomouc, they are both stating on their websites currently that they still have sun bears within their collections so I believe that these old ladies are still with us. I guess I need to get my Czech trip pretty booked soon if I have any hope of seeing them, then.
 
beccasunbear said:
I guess I need to get my Czech trip pretty booked soon if I have any hope of seeing them, then.
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I would strongly suggest that despite your general aim being to visit collections holding Malayan Sun Bear, it would be something of an error to omit visiting Prague (and possibly Plzen) whilst you are in the Czech Republic; in my opinion they are the best European collections outside of Berlin, and many on this site hold them in higher regard than the two Berlin collections.

Who knows, you might discover another species or two which you will want to seek out and enjoy once you have got "the set" as far as sunbears go :p
 
Thanks for the recommendations! It’s very interesting to hear that they are held in such high esteem.

Although, I think I probably won’t live long enough to complete the full set of zoos holding sun bears - there are just so many North American and Asian zoos to work my way around, it’s unreal!
 
Quite :P just got to enjoy the journey and the side-attractions (as it were) rather than the destination itself.
 
Exactly, it’s all a great experience for me. I enjoy visiting new zoos so much because I find it so exciting to have a new surprise around every corner.
 
I have since had contact with both Sosto Zoo and Zagreb Zoo:

Sosto Zoo have confirmed they no longer hold any sun bears as I had suspected.

Zagreb Zoo have confirmed that their female Anuška is still with them, now at the considerable age of 31 years old.

I’m hoping I may be able to collect this type of information from many of the other zoos I was uncertain about.
 
beccasunbear said:
So RZSS finally have a bear cub! Perhaps not the species they seem to want the very most, however, but I think it’s absolutely great news and a real step forward for them.

Good to see that Una Richardson is back. I really like her, I think she is excellent. Maybe she will pass some of whatever it is that she is doing on to Edinburgh.

Perhaps it will be panda cub next? Perhaps it will be a sun bear cub next?
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I thought that Edinburgh had 2 male Sun Bears?


[Moderator edit: this post and following posts were moved from the thread linked here: Highland Wildlife Park - Highland wildlife park news 2018]
 
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Yes, unfortunately they do still just have the two boys, who are undoubtedly the two most eligible bachelors in Europe!

They have been talking about extending the enclosure for years now in order to add breeding facilities to enable them to introduce a female, but somehow it just never happens . . . guess other things must be way higher up their list of priorities.
 
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beccasunbear said:
Yes, unfortunately they do still just have the two boys, who are undoubtedly the two most eligible bachelors in Europe!

They have been talking about extending the enclosure for years now in order to add breeding facilities to enable them to introduce a female, but somehow it just never happens . . . guess other things must be way higher up their list of priorities.
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Colchester has 1:1 Sunbears (Jo-Jo & Srey Ya) and it is hoped they will breed in the future as both are unrepresented as both bears were confiscated by anti-poaching controls in Cambodia.
 
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