A ground-breaking research project sponsored by Yorkshire Wildlife Park is set to improve the lives and welfare of polar bears and help secure their future in light of the current climate emergency.
The initiative, which has brought together 35 leading scientists, researchers and polar bear experts from around the world, has just released findings that it is hoped will have a huge impact on the conservation and welfare of this at-risk species.
The "Bear Necessities" report was officially released to coincide with both International Polar Bear Week and COP 27 in Egypt, where world leaders are meeting to tackle global warming.
The report sets out a series of discoveries, from which recommendations have been made regarding the priorities for wildlife parks and zoos to ensure polar bears can thrive and provide insights that could inform conservation planning in the wild.
The park, which is home to eight polar bears, is at the forefront of global efforts to save the species, whose numbers are dropping alarmingly because the climate emergency is melting their sea-ice habitat, which has declined by 13% over the last decade.
Polar Project, the park’s ten-acre reserve which opened in 2016, is a leading site for conservation and its experts were part of the 35-strong panel engaged in the unprecedented knowledge-sharing initiative.
“We hope this will be a significant step forward in our collective endeavours to improve the welfare of polar bears in zoos around the world and, ultimately, in the wild,” said John Minion, Chief Executive of the 150-acre park at Branton, near Doncaster.
The report, based on a series of virtual workshops, focussed on understanding of the psychological priorities of polar bears so that habitat design, nutrition and enrichment, can be tailored to the fundamental needs of the species.
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Posted On: 22/11/2022