Philadelphia Zoo: Bear Country

 Not far from the Primate House is a set of four naturalistic habitats that were originally known as Bear Country.  When the Philadelphia Zoo's last Polar Bear (Coldilocks) died they made the conscious decision that maintaining Polar Bears in the heat and humidity of the middle Atlantic region was not something that their habitat was best equipped to do, and that retrofitting it was beyond their ability.  So, they transformed this part of the hill into massively up-graded digs for their colony of Humboldt Penguins.  It was a good transition.

In the remaining habitats the zoo continues to support bear species.  Only recently this year two Asian Sloth Bear yearlings born at the Philadelphia Zoo left to continue their lives at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kansas, leaving their parents Kayla and Bhalu free to start a new family.  In the other space bachelor Andean Bear Sinchi resides.  It is entirely conceivable that at some point a suitable female Andean Bear will move to Philadelphia to join the young male and hopefully produce off-spring of their own, too.  Moving animals for targeted breeding is a Hallmark of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums SSP (Species Survival Programs).

Kayla and Bhalu were not out, but Sinchi provided some lovely photo ops.

ANDEAN BEAR

Tremartos omatus

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Heading off to catch some cool mist from the waterfall.