“We want to return to breeding polar bears, which made us internationally famous in the past. If we are lucky, the first cubs could be born in autumn 2027,” said Jan Bedřich, spokesman for the Brno Zoo. He reminded that the breeding of polar bears in captivity is extremely demanding. In Brno, however, he succeeded three times in recent years.
The garden owes the couple Cora and Umca and their breeders the opportunity to create a large breeding group of polar bears. Cora gave birth to and raised five cubs; Bill and Tom (2007), Nanuk and Comet (2012) and Noria (2015). Each time it was a breeding sensation. Thousands of people went for the cubs. Umca died in 2018. Cora is already an elderly lady who enjoys peace.
But thanks to them, the garden got the green light from the European breeding coordinator. She expanded the original exhibition of polar bears to twice as much, i.e. to a total of one thousand square meters. The breeders moved Cora to the former enclosure of the Kamchatka bears. Last year, breeders brought polar bears Anna and Elsa from Germany, named after the heroines of the Ice Kingdom fairy tale. This autumn, two more males are planned to be imported from the Netherlands and Germany.
“The transport of Anori and Nivi was difficult. The breeders prepared them for it. The bears entered the boxes calmly, it was not necessary to sleep on the journey, only one of the female bears was a little restless,” said the spokesperson. The bears are now getting to know their new home. The situation calmed down, which was helped by the recordings of the voices of the Danish female bear breeders who let them in the zoo.
The experienced coordinator of their European breeding will decide which bears and males to create breeding pairs from. Then there will be nothing left but to wait.
Photo: Brno Zoo
Polar bears from Denmark that have recently moved to the Brno Zoo.
Photo: Brno Zoo
One of the bears from Denmark, whose new home is Zoo Brno.
