The American black bears in Zie-ZOO Zoo in Volkel are moving. In a week, the animals will be given a place in a park in Germany, where they will have more space to move. With the move, the last two American black bears will disappear from the Netherlands.
Zie-ZOO Zoo announced the news on Tuesday. “The bears will have more space to move, explore and exhibit their natural behavior in a wooded environment,” the park writes.
The animals are a familiar and beloved sight in the park. Many people on social media react with surprise and disappointment to the message. Understandable, says head zookeeper of the park Patrick Rutjes. “We also think it is a shame, but we think the welfare of the animals is the most important,” he says.
“When the enclosure was built, the requirements were different than they are today. Our enclosure is now 300 square meters. The guideline of the EAZA, the European Association of Zoos, is 300 square meters per bear. Our enclosure is therefore on the small side according to that guideline.”
The zoo has considered building a new enclosure. “Then we would have lost half of the old part of the park to the bears,” says Rutjes. “We don’t have the money to buy ten more hectares. And we would also like to show more animals than just bears.”
In addition, the American black bear is not an endangered species. “EAZA advises European zoos to keep bears that are endangered, such as the spectacled bear, sloth bear, polar bear and Malayan bear. We have therefore also considered creating a new bear enclosure for spectacled bears, but this would also leave too little space for other animals.”
Rutjes says that he understands that this decision concerns some visitors. “It is a difficult choice and it is not that the bears were lacking anything with us. But we all want to give our animals optimal care. I think the bears in Germany get ten times as much space.”
Due to the departure of the bears, visitors to Volkel can only admire the little coatis in the ‘bears’ category. “We also think about the future and therefore continuously consider which animals we can keep and which we cannot. We now choose to keep several smaller, endangered animal species.”
It is striking that the departing black bears can still be seen on the zoo’s logo. According to Rutjes, this will not be adjusted for the time being.
