2 Bears Depart Detroit Zoo For Colorado Sanctuary
ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - Two bears from the Detroit Zoo are on their way to wide open spaces out west.
Syrian brown bear Polly and North American black bear Migwan left Royal Oak on Monday for a Colorado sanctuary that will provide them with a lot more room to roam and an opportunity to make new friends.
"While we did a wonderful job of taking care of them and rescuing them in the first place, we have found a place that we think is better for them," Zoo CEO Ron Kagan said.
When 20-year-old brown bear Polly arrived at the Detroit Zoo in the year 2000, she had suffered psychological trauma from her confinement in a small cage with a hamster-like performance wheel as part of a traveling circus. Two years later, Migwan, 15, was discovered as a cub in Gladwin, Mich., with porcupine quills in her face and she, too, found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo.
It was safe place for the bears, but small, Kagan said.
"As you see in other animals that have been psychologically scarred you can see stereotypic behavior like pacing," Kagan said. "The bear dens were built when the zoo opened, and of course many modifications had been made, but they don't compare to offering a bear 15 acres."
He said that's what the Polly and Migwan will have at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colo. along with rolling prairie grasslands, pools for swimming, climbing structures to play on, shady spaces for resting, underground dens and secluded areas for the animals to have time away from each other as needed.
"It will just give the animals so much more space and so many more social opportunities. You know, if they choose to interact with other bears they'll have plenty of opportunities," Kagan said. "Just as we did with the elephants in 2004, when we discover a place that can provide animals with an improved situation, we have a responsibility to allow them to go from a good life to a great life."
The move will allow the Detroit Zoo to expand the bear enclosure for the remaining three grizzlies to enjoy.