Yorkshire Wildlife Park Yorkshire Wildlife Park News 2019

[J C]

Will be interesting to see how the big week at the zoo series Handel’s / reports this next year as particularly the first season was based around there arrival, the second on how there where getting on a year later and the third. I wonder if they will even film from there as a base

 

[TNT]

This is an incredibly offensive thing to say about the the vet / keeper team involved. I find it very strange how quickly people on here jump on some things (a joke about heading down a no entry path for instance) and claim it is 'what gives zoochat a bad name' but it is ok to say something like this? Baffling.

I don't find it convenient for them at all. I find it sad. They have been happy to keep the female bear essentially off show since she arrived and given that the other enclosure that held the two males is unfortunately vacant, I see no reason why they would need to bump her off to make use of that enclosure. I find it more likely that the quick succession of events is due to the fact that the bears arrived at the same time with similar issues and the veterinary options have therefore dwindled in a similar time frame.

I wholeheartedly second what you have just written @Zia . The above comments are outright disrespectful towards the team of hardworking keepers!

Having worked with the team at YWP for a short period of time myself, and with friends working there currently, I can tell you that the keepers have all felt this loss. In no way would this have been for the parks convenience - the health and welfare of the animals in their care is paramount... Why would they spend all the money and time in bringing them over to then euthanise them because its convenient?? Coming to such a conclusion makes no sense to me.

YWP have done what was right for Han, Kai and Riku.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I wholeheartedly second what you have just written @Zia . The above comments are outright disrespectful towards the team of hardworking keepers!

I didn't say I agreed - I merely confirmed I had already seen people saying this online.....

I find it more likely that the quick succession of events is due to the fact that the bears arrived at the same time with similar issues and the veterinary options have therefore dwindled in a similar time frame.

The fact that it's been a bit of a rollercoaster of hot and cold/damp weather in recent months - with a relatively exposed site, if I recall correctly - won't have helped either.

 

[Embu]

Very sad news about the brown bears, really not the ending anyone wanted this story to have I'm sure.

Is it just me though that finds the decision to euthanise three bears in such quick succession quite convenient? I'm not saying there weren't any health issues - but I can't help but feel like the park may have given up on them to an extent, particularly when down to the last one or two individuals. With lots of new animals expected I doubt their enclosure will be empty for long.

Why would YWP go to all the hassle of transporting them over here(it's not like they were just over the water?) to then "get bored" and find something else. YWP were a forever retirement home for these bears just unfortunately they had health issues that were just to far advanced to be helped.

I personally take my hat off to YWP for wanting to help rescue animals that need a better quality of life rather than just be interested in being part of the breeding program

 

[J C]

Though I don’t think they would euthanise the animal for any other reason than is in the animals best interest through health reasons would think the last bears quality of life was a small consideration being a now solitary animal with little to no chance of ever having a companion to see out her life. This is a situation that will repeat its self with all rescued groups of animals, with the lions also not being able to breed or be mixed “probably” in a few years they will face a situation with one solitary animal left as the pride dwindles.

 

[Sand Cat]

I certainly don't mean any offence to the keeping staff at YWP, but I doubt any ultimate decision on the bears' futures would have been made by them.

I do fear that maybe the park expected a bit too much of these bears, the lion rescue was an undisputed success and perhaps spoilt them a bit in terms of what to expect in terms of the recovery of animals that had lived in poor conditions for many years. I find the mixed messages the park put out very odd - various claims that the bears were doing amazingly well, followed by statements that they never really recovered and therefore had to be put down. They probably made things sound better than they were to give a feel-good story but it made the final outcome all the more of a shock. I also wish they'd been a bit more open about the bad news which seems to have been tucked away somewhat, and not reported at all on their Twitter page which is more devoted to silly jokes and pictures of animals with 'amusing' captions.

 

[Embu]

I certainly don't mean any offence to the keeping staff at YWP,

I do fear that maybe the park expected a bit too much of these bears, the lion rescue was an undisputed success and perhaps spoilt them a bit in terms of what to expect in terms of the recovery of animals that had lived in poor conditions for many years. I find the mixed messages the park put out very odd - various claims that the bears were doing amazingly well, followed by statements that they never really recovered and therefore had to be put down. They probably made things sound better than they were to give a feel-good story but it made the final outcome all the more of a shock. I also wish they'd been a bit more open about the bad news

I'm confused by you saying that the park said " they were doing amazingly well and then followed by statements that they never really recovered"
Are we forgetting that these bears spent most of their lives in small cages? They were then given freedom in a huge enclosure, they were bound to struggle to return to normality and fully recover. I remember the BBC breakfast report when they first arrived and it was stated that they turned around in tight circles when they were first let out into their new home. Something I would think would never stop.
I think YWP were very open and honest and they could have given a lot less information. Fact of the matter is YWP were able to give these bears a new home just unfortunately it was too late for their health. Nothing really to add

 

[Shirokuma]

I do question the wisdom and ethics of bringing the bears from the other side of the world in the first place. Could the wildlife park not have supported a humane solution in Japan?

Was this all in the best interests of the bears or was it in the interests of the zoo?

At the risk of sounding heartless, I think there is a difference between a sanctuary and a serious conservation focussed organisation and I have concerns - but very much pondering the situation rather than condemning them - about the direction of their mission.

 

[hjkr]

There is a sign up near the bear enclosures stating Hanako had recurring stomach problems and had several fits 'yesterday' (either the day or day before she was put to sleep, I'm not sure when it was written), therefore the decision was made to put her to sleep.

 

[Sand Cat]

There is a sign up near the bear enclosures stating Hanako had recurring stomach problems and had several fits 'yesterday' (either the day or day before she was put to sleep, I'm not sure when it was written), therefore the decision was made to put her to sleep.

Thanks for posting this - I wish they had put this in the brief statement online as it would have sounded a lot better than the generic 'welfare reasons' given as an explanation for her being PTS.

 

[Sand Cat]

I'm confused by you saying that the park said " they were doing amazingly well and then followed by statements that they never really recovered"
Are we forgetting that these bears spent most of their lives in small cages? They were then given freedom in a huge enclosure, they were bound to struggle to return to normality and fully recover. I remember the BBC breakfast report when they first arrived and it was stated that they turned around in tight circles when they were first let out into their new home. Something I would think would never stop.
I think YWP were very open and honest and they could have given a lot less information. Fact of the matter is YWP were able to give these bears a new home just unfortunately it was too late for their health. Nothing really to add

I think you must have missed some of the glowing positivity provided by the park - including video footage of the two youngest bears playing together and using their pool and enrichment activities. In the first few weeks the picture wasn't so positive but that soon changed and was replaced by an almost fairytale image. I found that very strange and confusing when told the bears had been put down because of their poor health.

 

[Zia]

I certainly don't mean any offence to the keeping staff at YWP, but I doubt any ultimate decision on the bears' futures would have been made by them.

Suggesting that they would be comfortable working in a culture where killing an animal for convenience is not much better tbh.

I do question the wisdom and ethics of bringing the bears from the other side of the world in the first place. Could the wildlife park not have supported a humane solution in Japan?

I don't necessarily disagree - but it is a different debate to how the bears were treated once they had arrived. I do however believe there is a place for both sanctuaries and 'serious' conservation organisations.

Thanks for posting this - I wish they had put this in the brief statement online as it would have sounded a lot better than the generic 'welfare reasons' given as an explanation for her being PTS.

They did:
Yorkshire Wildlife Park announces sad loss of rescued Brown Bears - Yorkshire Wildlife Park

 

[Nisha]

A male Giant Otter has recently arrived. He came from Givskud in Denmark

 

[Maguari]

Just noticed this nugget hadn't made it to the thread - White-faced Sakis have recently arrived: Security Check Required

 

[TNT]

Just noticed this nugget hadn't made it to the thread - White-faced Sakis have recently arrived: Security Check Required

I would have sworn I'd posted this... I must be going mad

 

[littleRedPanda]

From reading the comments, they appear to have taken the place of the Squirrel monkeys.