1.10.2023 by Ralph Morton
Rotterdam Zoo has been Wolodja’s home after he left Berlin. It was my first stop in September.
As Rebecca Roth also found, Wolodya is now an impressive male Polar Bear.
I approached the Arctic Tundra exhibit as soon as the zoo opened. Wolodya was waiting for me.
The tundra landscape surrounds two pools which can be separated by a door in the ridge dividing them.
Between the two pools there is a large underground viewing chamber.
Both pools can be seen through separate large glass panels. Talks on the Arctic can be given while groups watch the bears.
Unfortunately the glass makes it hard to film the bears on a bright day. But Wolodja and Nivi did get together at ridge door to playfight in the water.
Nivi is also a male, which has led some I met to speculate that Rotterdam may be going to give up keeping Polar Bears. Younger keepers and visitors question the value of having animals which cannot be reintroduced to the wild. They want to focus on those animals which can be helped this way.
It is also felt that the bears still do not have enough space. As far as I could see Wolodja and Nivi were in excellent shape.
This charming bronze casting of a Polar Bear may one day be the only Polar Bear in Rotterdam Zoo. I admit that I felt rather down after this visit. The more so because the enclosure and its occupants had been so fine.
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