Polar Bear Moves from Edinburgh Zoo to Highlands
Mercedes Quits Zoo for Kingussie Wildlife Park
Nov 4, 2009
After 25 years in a small concrete cave Mercedes (Edinburgh Zoo’s Polar Bear) was transferred to the Highland Wildlife Park in 2009.
Mercedes Life in Captivity
A quarter of a century ago Mercedes was due to be shot in Canada because she kept wandering into town. Edinburgh Zoo intervened, and she swapped death for life in captivity.
Edinburgh Zoo has an admirable reputation for housing animals in appropriate environments, but many members of the public felt that Mercedes – in her concrete enclosure – was an exception.
Public donations provided the funds to build her a suitable outdoor enclosure in the Highlands, and the Army (51 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers) did the work for free.
Polar Bears in Zoos
- There are about 235 in zoos worldwide, and it is almost impossible to keep them in a way which even approximates to the way they live in the wild. Polar Bears are large, strong, and dangerous – so they are securely incarcerated!
- In nature the roam over huge distances through the Arctic snow and ice, and swim across large expanses of sea to hunt – in zoos the do not usually have more than a secure pen with a small moat or pond.
- If there were not a few Polar Bears in captivity then very few people would ever see one ‘in the flesh’, and it is true that many are either captive-bred or ‘rescued’ animals – maybe this is sufficient justification for keeping them.
- Whatever the ethics of keeping Polar Bears (or any other animal for that matter) in zoos – conservation of the species in the wild is of paramount concern.
There are between 20,000 and 25,000 Polar Bears still alive in the wild, with 19 recognised populations. They are found throughout the Arctic, and often travel across the Arctic Ocean to reach a little further south in the spring. They are severely threatened by global warming.
The most productive hunting ground for the Polar Bear is on the edges of the sea ice that covers the continental shelf around the Arctic landmasses. Here they can catch seals. When the sea ice melts they need to swim away, either to dry land, or else back onto solid ice – neither of these places is as good for hunting as the sea ice.
Climate Change is causing sea ice to melt more, and earlier each year. This is reducing the Polar Bear’s hunting ground, and forcing them to travel further and further to find food. Young cubs often die of starvation.
Main Reference: BBC Website – Polar Bear
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