Syrian brown bears Merle und Ronja in Heidelberg

4.9.2026 – Photos by Petra Ballon were taken on the 1st of September this year.

Merle and Ronja are a well-known mother-and-daughter pair of Syrian brown bears (Ursus arctos syriacus) residing at the Heidelberg Zoo in Germany. They are part of an important European conservation breeding program for this highly endangered and relatively small brown bear subspecies.🐾

I’m not sure who’s who but my guess is that Ronja is the one on the left and Merle accordingly on the right side of the photos.

Mother Ronja arrived at Heidelberg Zoo in September 2018 from Tierpark Köthen. She was brought in specifically to pair with the zoo’s resident male bear, Martin, to support the captive assurance population. The father Martin unfortunately suffered from severe osteoarthritis in both knees and had to be humanely euthanized in early January 2021.

Just a few weeks after Martin’s death, on January 15, 2021, Ronja gave birth to a single female cub. The zookeepers named her Merle — choosing a name starting with “M” to honor her late father.

In her early months, Merle gained social media popularity for her playful antics, while zoo updates often highlighted Ronja navigating the typical stresses and joys of protective mother bear behavior.

Unique features of the Syrian brown bears: They are the only bears in the world known to possess distinctive white claws.

Appearance: They have light, straw-colored or honey-blonde fur, which is much paler than typical European brown bears. Sometimes the visitors believe Ronja and Merle are polar bears!

Sometimes the visitors believe Ronja and Merle are polar bears! 🙂

Size: They are the smallest subspecies of brown bear, weighing up to 550 pounds (250 kg).

Wild Status: They are highly endangered and population numbers are declining. They are completely extinct in the wild within Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, but small fragmented populations still survive in parts of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Captive breeding pairs like Ronja and Merle are critical to maintaining the genetic diversity of the subspecies.

Dear Petra! Thank you so much for the photos of these two adorable bears!