UK Rescue Bear collections

Embu

Embu

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
With the recent arrivals of more rescue bears into the UK I thought I'd just make a list of holders(current & former individuals) that have rescued/rehomed bears.

Five Sisters zoo

Peggy- 0:1 circus rescue 2011 died 2017
Carmen - 0:1 circus rescue 2011 died 2020
Suzy - circus rescue 2011 died 2020
Henk - roadside attraction 2018 died 2020
Eso - roadside attraction 2018
Byara - former pet
Yampil - rescued from war torn zoo 2024 died 2024

Yorkshire Wildlife park
All were rescued from a living museum in tiny cages

Amu - 1:0 born 1991 died 2018
Kai - 1:0 born 2001 died 2019
Riku - 1:0 born 2001 died 2019
Hannako - 0:1 born 1992 died 2019

Port Lympne
All were rescued from a closed down adventure park

Julio - 1:0 born 2007
Encam -0:1 born 2002
Neu - 0:1 born 2015
Rojo - 1:0 born 2020
Tornillo - 1:0 born 2020

Wildwood trust - 2 sites

Gosho - 1:0 born prior to 2014
Milcho - 1:0 born prior to 2014
Gosho & Milcho were rescued from a hunting centre in 2014
Mish 0:1
Lucy - 0:1
Mish & Lucy were rescued from Albania hunting centre in 2021
Malenqy - 1:0 born 2024
Nanuq - 1:0 born 2024
Malenqy & Nanuq were born after their mother was rescued from Ukraine

Jimmy's Farm
They were both rescued from a closed down predator park on Norway 2023
Ewa - 0:1 polar bear born 2005
Diego - 1:0 brown bear born 2012

Wildheart (Isle of Wight)
The pair were rescued in 2025 Rescued from cages outside a restaurant as restaurant attraction
Benji - 1:0
Balu - 1:0

Manor House wildlife park
0:4 Asian Black bears rescued from a Bile farm in Asia. Rescued 2025
Martha
Irene
Gigi
Coco
 
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Aren't quite a few of the UK's sun bears rescues as well? I know that both of the sun bears at Colchester (formerly imported by, and kept at, the RSCC) came from a rescue centre in Cambodia. The sun bears at Chester also came from the RSCC and possibly were also rescue animals.
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Aren't quite a few of the UK's sun bears rescues as well? I know that both of the sun bears at Colchester (formerly imported by, and kept at, the RSCC) came from a rescue centre in Cambodia. The sun bears at Chester also came from the RSCC and possibly were also rescue animals.
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The water is pretty muddy there, as with the two bears at Jimmy's really. Not necessarily what you'd call typical rescues... I'd lean towards relocation.
 
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TNT said:
The water is pretty muddy there, as with the two bears at Jimmy's really. Not necessarily what you'd call typical rescues... I'd lean towards relocation.
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My apologies, Port Lympne & Jimmy's Farm are both relocations not rescues as I had initially implied. That was my bad.
 
Embu said:
With the recent arrivals of more rescue bears into the UK I thought I'd just make a list of holders(current & former individuals) that have rescued/rehomed bears.

Five Sisters zoo

Peggy- 0:1 circus rescue 2011 died 2017
Carmen - 0:1 circus rescue 2011 died 2020
Suzy - circus rescue 2011 died 2020
Henk - roadside attraction 2018 died 2020
Eso - roadside attraction 2018
Byara - former pet
Yampil - rescued from war torn zoo 2024 died 2024

Yorkshire Wildlife park
All were rescued from a living museum in tiny cages

Amu - 1:0 born 1991 died 2018
Kai - 1:0 born 2001 died 2019
Riku - 1:0 born 2001 died 2019
Hannako - 0:1 born 1992 died 2019

Port Lympne
All were rescued from a closed down adventure park

Julio - 1:0 born 2007
Encam -0:1 born 2002
Neu - 0:1 born 2015
Rojo - 1:0 born 2020
Tornillo - 1:0 born 2020

Wildwood trust - 2 sites

Gosho - 1:0 born prior to 2014
Milcho - 1:0 born prior to 2014
Gosho & Milcho were rescued from a hunting centre in 2014
Mish 0:1
Lucy - 0:1
Mish & Lucy were rescued from Albania hunting centre in 2021
Malenqy - 1:0 born 2024
Nanuq - 1:0 born 2024
Malenqy & Nanuq were born after their mother was rescued from Ukraine

Jimmy's Farm
They were both rescued from a closed down predator park on Norway 2023
Ewa - 0:1 polar bear born 2005
Diego - 1:0 brown bear born 2012

Wildheart (Isle of Wight)
The pair were rescued in 2025 Rescued from cages outside a restaurant as restaurant attraction
Benji - 1:0
Balu - 1:0

Manor House wildlife park
0:4 Asian Black bears rescued from a Bile farm in Asia. Rescued 2025
Martha
Irene
Gigi
Coco
Click to expand...

This is a lovely list! But what species are involved? You only labeled a few token individuals.
 
Wisp O' Mist said:
This is a lovely list! But what species are involved? You only labeled a few token individuals.
Click to expand...

The list is exact. Apart from Yampil who was an Asiatic Black the rest I believe are all European browns, I don't remember any other particular species being mentioned:
(YWP claimed theirs were Ussuri browns but not sure what they are)
 
Embu said:
The list is exact. Apart from Yampil who was an Asiatic Black the rest I believe are all European browns, I don't remember any other particular species being mentioned:
(YWP claimed theirs were Ussuri browns but not sure what they are)
Click to expand...

Embu said:
Jimmy's Farm
They were both rescued from a closed down predator park on Norway 2023
Ewa - 0:1 polar bear born 2005
Click to expand...

Embu said:
Manor House wildlife park
0:4 Asian Black bears rescued from a Bile farm in Asia. Rescued 2025
Martha
Irene
Gigi
Coco
Click to expand...
 
Embu said:
With the recent arrivals of more rescue bears into the UK I thought I'd just make a list of holders(current & former individuals) that have rescued/rehomed bears.

Five Sisters zoo

Peggy- 0:1 circus rescue 2011 died 2017
Carmen - 0:1 circus rescue 2011 died 2020
Suzy - circus rescue 2011 died 2020
Henk - roadside attraction 2018 died 2020
Eso - roadside attraction 2018
Byara - former pet
Yampil - rescued from war torn zoo 2024 died 2024

Yorkshire Wildlife park
All were rescued from a living museum in tiny cages

Amu - 1:0 born 1991 died 2018
Kai - 1:0 born 2001 died 2019
Riku - 1:0 born 2001 died 2019
Hannako - 0:1 born 1992 died 2019

Port Lympne
All were rescued from a closed down adventure park

Julio - 1:0 born 2007
Encam -0:1 born 2002
Neu - 0:1 born 2015
Rojo - 1:0 born 2020
Tornillo - 1:0 born 2020

Wildwood trust - 2 sites

Gosho - 1:0 born prior to 2014
Milcho - 1:0 born prior to 2014
Gosho & Milcho were rescued from a hunting centre in 2014
Mish 0:1
Lucy - 0:1
Mish & Lucy were rescued from Albania hunting centre in 2021
Malenqy - 1:0 born 2024
Nanuq - 1:0 born 2024
Malenqy & Nanuq were born after their mother was rescued from Ukraine

Jimmy's Farm
They were both rescued from a closed down predator park on Norway 2023
Ewa - 0:1 polar bear born 2005
Diego - 1:0 brown bear born 2012

Wildheart (Isle of Wight)
The pair were rescued in 2025 Rescued from cages outside a restaurant as restaurant attraction
Benji - 1:0
Balu - 1:0

Manor House wildlife park
0:4 Asian Black bears rescued from a Bile farm in Asia. Rescued 2025
Martha
Irene
Gigi
Coco
Click to expand...

It would have been interesting to have listed how long these relocated animals survived at their various 'rescue centres', rather than (or in addition to) their dates of birth.
 
ZooNews2024 said:
It would have been interesting to have listed how long these relocated animals survived at their various 'rescue centres', rather than (or in addition to) their dates of birth.
Click to expand...

There's only Port Lympne & YWP that doesn't have this.

Port Lympne bears arrived in 2021 & Yorkshire's arrived in 2018
 
Embu said:
Manor House wildlife park
0:4 Asian Black bears rescued from a Bile farm in Asia. Rescued 2025
Martha
Irene
Gigi
Coco
Click to expand...

There are many things you can say about France, but "bile farm" is not one of them :rolleyes::p the animals in question came from Parc Animalier D'Auvergne, which has ceased to keep the species, and are *not* rescues.
 
Embu said:
I'm just going off the following link, maybe these bears aren't rescues, maybe they are just surplus. Endangered moon bears arrive at wildlife park in Tenby
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There's no maybe about it, as they 100% came from said collection, and the link you provided says nothing whatsoever about the bears being rescued from a bile farm :D it's just a bog-standard article which utilises green-washing to paint "Manor House picks up some surplus bears" as "Manor House is directly helping the global conservation of a species which is threatened by bile farms in Asia" and leaving people to incorrectly put dots together.
 
Attempted and failed 'rescues' would be interesting too, especially if they raised public donations - like the Polar Bear from Mexico which was used to raise publicity in the UK, when the Mexicans did not want it 'rescuing', did not agree to what was seem almost as 'colonial' intervention, and would not issue export permits. Were the funds raised for this, paid back to the donors?
 
TeaLovingDave said:
There's no maybe about it, as they 100% came from said collection, and the link you provided says nothing whatsoever about the bears being rescued from a bile farm :D it's just a bog-standard article which utilises green-washing to paint "Manor House picks up some surplus bears" as "Manor House is directly helping the global conservation of a species which is threatened by bile farms in Asia" and leaving people to incorrectly put dots together.
Click to expand...
'Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story' seems as just as apt now as it was when I was younger - maybe even more so?
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Aren't quite a few of the UK's sun bears rescues as well? I know that both of the sun bears at Colchester (formerly imported by, and kept at, the RSCC) came from a rescue centre in Cambodia. The sun bears at Chester also came from the RSCC and possibly were also rescue animals.
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I believe Chester's sun bears are rescues yes, I'm pretty sure there's a sign up next to their enclosure that mentions at least one of them (the male i think?) was a rescue from the pet trade
 
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