AquaZoo Leeuwarden has welcomed second male polar bear

AquaZoo Leeuwarden has welcomed a second polar bear. Rocky arrived at the Frisian park in January. After a settling-in period of several weeks, he was introduced to Felix, the polar bear who has been a resident of AquaZoo for several years. The two males now share the enclosure.

Breeding ProgramRocky comes from the Belgian animal park Monde Sauvage. As part of the breeding program, a new male is coming there and a new home has been found for Rocky at AquaZoo. The park is very happy with the arrival of the 18-year-old animal.

"We can do our part to ensure the survival of this magnificent species in this way," Kreijkes explained. "Polar bears are seriously threatened in the wild. To prevent their extinction, a breeding program has been set up. That program ensures a healthy population of polar bears in zoos. The coordinator decides which polar bears fit together, and it does not always have to be a male and female. There are also so-called "bachelor groups" consisting of only males or females. Our contribution now is to accommodate two male polar bears."

EndangeredIn the wild, polar bears are doing anything but well. Only 26,000 still live in the wild. Because the earth is warming, polar ice is forming later and later and melting earlier and earlier. Kreijkes: "As a result, the polar bears sometimes do not have enough time to hunt for their prey on the ice. That means they eat into their layer of fat and lose weight, often resulting in death. With the lack of polar ice, polar bears also move into villages more often to look for food, sometimes being killed by humans."

Polar bears are naturally solitary animals, which means they prefer to live alone, but in places where there is plenty of food, they sometimes live together. Cubs also stay with their mother for a while. After 2.5 years, the offspring go their own way.

Two polar bearsThis is not the first time two polar bears have lived at AquaZoo. Until June 2019, male Nanu lived together with Felix in the Frisian park. "A zoo is a place with enough food, so polar bears can live together here. The enclosure was built for two polar bears, allowing Rocky to move in right away. With 5,000m2 of enclosure, they have enough space to be together, but both men can also isolate themselves if they want," Kreijkes said.

AquaZoo is not only committed to polar bears through its breeding program. The park also supports Stichting Wildlife, which is dedicated to various conservation projects. One of those projects is Polar Bears International, which fights against the extinction of polar bears. One of the ways they do this is through education about this species and their natural habitat.