The main aspects of the renovation will be an expansion of the staging area and the swimming pool. Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo credit: Pixabay.
Brno, Mar 4 (BD) – The renovation of the polar bear enclosure at Brno Zoo, which is due to begin this Spring, will first see the staging area expanded. When this is completed, Cora, the zoo’s adult female, will move into this section so that work can commence expanding the main exhibition area with the swimming pool. When the project is finished it will more than double the living area available for the polar bears.
Martin Hovorka, Director of Brno Zoo, describes the alterations to be made to the main enclosure: “The pool will be enlarged and the walls will be painted, and we will treat them with a special nanomaterial for easy maintenance and longer life. In this way it should not be the case that the paint splinters after a couple of years.”
The renovation work is necessary because the zoo is looking for a new partner for Cora. However, this plan has several complex logistical issues, as if the new partner arrives while the renovation is taking place, the bears would have to move into a temporary home in the enclosure where the Kamchatka bears live, which would disturb their breeding. There are also potential problems connected to the geological status of the rocks that form the sides of the polar bear enclosure.
Brno Zoo has been criticised in the past for the condition and size of the polar bears’ enclosure.
Related article: Award-Winning Video Depicts Behaviour of Polar Bears in Captivity, including Footage From Brno Zoo
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