The dog that turned into a bear (for Christmas)

This turned into a sort of surprise.

I’d been up and down the road a few times after first seeing this particular Christmas decoration light in a garden, and had been thinking it was intriguing to see how they chose a dog instead of something more traditional – It was paired with reindeer, but I’ve already mentioned our little glut of these, so avoided including that in this pic.

While I can’t say I was surprised, it would be true to say I was a little disappointed to find that this wasn’t a dog (which the profile had looked like from behind), but a tiny polar bear 🙂

Oh well, wrong again.

New Highland home for only UK polar bear

Currently the only polar bear in the UK, Mercedes made an uneventful move from her home in Edinburgh Zoo to a purpose built enclosure within the Highland Wildlife Park, Kincraig, Kingussie, this week.

Mercedes had been living in Edinburgh since 1984, when she was rescued from being shot after repeatedly visiting a small town in her home of Canada. Polar bears are dangerous, and if they begin to forage for food in towns have to be shot as there is no practical way to discourage them, and they can kill humans with little more than one swipe of a paw. However, in this case, a member of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RSZZ) had enough contacts, and the Mercedes car company assisted with transport, meaning that this polar bear was rescued. Although naturally solitary animals, Mercedes was paired and had two cubs, To-Nuik and Ohoto, with male Barney.

The new enclosure gives Mercedes over four acres of land to roam, and includes a large pool. The location will also be cooler than Edinburgh, and should see more snow – something that was provided by a snow machine at the zoo.

Great care was taken in the move, with preparations taking some six months in order to familiarise the bear with her enclosure for the trip, which took around three hours to complete, after which she wandered out and began to explore her new home.

Although her original enclosure at the zoo was adequate, it seems the public always wanted to see her have more space. An appeal was launched (the RSZZ is a charity that receives no funding from the likes of government sources) to raise the £300,000 needed to finance the move, and in the end, the society needed to raise only £75,000 in donation, as the Army stepped in and assisted with the provision of labour and machinery needed to construct Mercedes’ new home.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The Highland Wildlife Park from above