The Arosa Bear Sanctuary offers a better home to bears that are already in captivity.
Keystone
A bear sanctuary in southeast Switzerland is to become home to two bears from a zoo in North Macedonia.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
The 2.8 hectare Arosa sanctuary works with the Four Paws animal welfare NGO to offer improved conditions for bears that are already in captivity. Two bears are already in residence at the facility that can accommodate five animals.
On Thursday, it was announced that an agreement had been reached with Skopje Zoo to offer a home for two of its four bears – a brother and sister aged 18-years-old.
The Skopje Zoo bear enclosure needs a maintenance overhaul and it was decided it would be better to house only two animals in future.
Arrangements are being made to transport the two bears across several countries and no exact date has been set for their arrival in Switzerland.
Their new home will “provide many new opportunities for the siblings and will allow them to live a bear-friendly life”, said Arosa Bear Foundation president Pascal Jenny. “Bears need a lot of space and the opportunity to bathe, climb and hibernate.”
The Arosa Bear Sanctuary has attracted 240,000 visitors since it started operating in August 2018.
Its two current residents are called Meimo and Amelia. Two other bears that were once housed at the sanctuary have since died.
Popular Stories
More
Aging society
No house generation: the impossibility of buying property in Switzerland
Swiss mountain municipality partly evacuated due to landslide threat
This content was published on
Part of the municipality of Blatten in canton Valais had to be evacuated on Saturday evening for safety reasons after a landslide.
This content was published on
Two people died after an avalanche on the Eiger in canton Bern on Saturday, police said. Five others were airlifted to hospital.
This content was published on
The Austrian countertenor won the 69th Eurovision in Basel on Saturday, edging out Israel. Switzerland’s Zoë Më came tenth.
Swiss minister: situation at German border hasn’t changed
This content was published on
Tighter rules at Germany’s borders have so far not had an impact on Switzerland, Justice Minister Beat Jans said on Saturday.
Basel ‘satisfied’ with Eurovision week as grand final approaches
This content was published on
Ahead of the Eurovision final on Saturday, authorities in Basel say the event has so far gone well, without major incidents.
Swiss Abroad elect representatives online for first time
This content was published on
Swiss citizens in 50 countries have used electronic voting for the first time to elect representatives to the Council of the Swiss Abroad for the 2025-2029 legislative.
This content was published on
Several people reported seeing the bear on Sunday afternoon in Zernez on the border of the Swiss National Park in eastern Switzerland, but said it ran off as soon as it noticed them. Georg Brosi from the cantonal office for hunting and fishing said the bear, whose traces in the snow indicate that it is…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.