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  Yahoo News 3 May 07
Singapore Zoo to keep polar bear: report

The Star 3 Oct 06
Too warm for polar bears
by Hilary Chiew

Today Online 9 Sep 06
Breeding is no indicator
Letter from Louis Ng
President and Executive Director
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)

Planet Ark 8 Sep 06
No More Polar Bears for Tropical Singapore Zoo

Today Online 7 Sep 06
No more animals from the Arctic: S'pore Zoo

The Singapore Zoo will no longer import animals from the Arctic, following concerns raised by an animal welfare group about the zoo's resident polar bears, Sheba and her son Inuku.

In a media statement yesterday, the Animal Research and Education Society (Acres) said it has raised "serious welfare concerns" over the two bears after a four-month undercover operation.

The findings were presented to the zoo in June.

In the investigation, Acres found that the bears exhibited severe signs of heat stress, were highly inactive and displayed "abnormal stereotypic" manners in their swimming or pacing during their active periods.

The last two behaviours are psychological indicators that the bears are not coping well with their environment, it said.

"There is no doubt that polar bears are poor candidates for captivity. They are extremely wide-ranging, highly intelligent, cold weather carnivores, so they are extremely problematic when housed in captivity," said Acres.

In response to queries, the Singapore Zoo confirmed that it will not bring in anymore Arctic animals. This is because it aims to be a "rainforest zoo", focusing on tropical rainforest animals.

It also reiterated that the bears are housed in good conditions, citing the birth of Inuka — the first polar bear born in the tropics — as evidence.

However, as part of an "animal exchange programme", the 16-year-old Inuka will soon be heading for cooler climates. Then, the zoo's executive director Fanny Lai said that this animal exchange was part of efforts to "contribute to the worldwide captive gene pool and help propagate the species". — Sheralyn Tay

Planet Ark 8 Sep 06
No More Polar Bears for Tropical Singapore Zoo

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Zoo is looking for a new home for its male polar bear and will no longer bring animals from the North or South Poles to tropical Singapore, an official said.

Zoo director Fanny Lai told Reuters on Thursday that Inuka, a 16-year-old polar bear born in Singapore Zoo, will be moved to a zoo in a temperate climate and that Singapore has told the Rostock Zoo in Germany -- which keeps track of all captive polar bears in the world -- that Inuka is available for transfer.

She denied the planned move was in response to a local animal rights group's campaign "What's a Polar Bear Doing in The Tropics?", adding that the Singapore zoo had decided to focus on being a rainforest zoo.

"You can't keep an Arctic animal in an open-air enclosure in the tropics," Animal Concerns Research and Education Society president Louis Ng told Reuters.

The zoo said the bears have an air-conditioned den and misting fans. Inuka, the first polar bear born in the tropics, will only be moved after the death of his 29-year-old mother Sheba, who will not be moved because she is too old. Polar bears in captivity have an average life span of 25 years.

Today Online 9 Sep 06
Breeding is no indicator
Letter from Louis Ng
President and Executive Director
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)

I refer to the report, "No more animals from the Arctic: S'pore Zoo" (Sept 7).

Acres would like to once again congratulate Singapore Zoo for responding positively to our concerns and agreeing to phase out the keeping of polar bears.

Acres is, however, puzzled as to why Singapore Zoo now says that the polar bears are housed in good conditions since they had earlier acknowledged the space constraints in an email in July 2005?

If the bears are housed in good conditions, why then do they display abnormal stereotypic behaviours which are clear signs of stress?

The current polar bear enclosure fails to meet the standards laid out in the Polar Bear Protection Act made law by the Government of Manitoba, Canada in 2003. These guidelines outline the minimum standards of care and husbandry that must be followed by those institutions housing polar bears. These strict guidelines must be met by any zoos wishing to acquire a polar bear from Manitoba.

The Singapore Zoo enclosure fails both in terms of size and design.

Indeed, if Singapore Zoo today wants to acquire polar bears from Manitoba, the government by law cannot allow it.

It is misleading for the Singapore Zoo to state that Inuka's birth is a sign that the bears are in good conditions.

Progressive zoos should recognise that animal births are no longer considered a benchmark for good animal welfare.

Acres has investigated several zoos in the region and has noted that captive animals breed even in the most appalling conditions.

The Star 3 Oct 06
Too warm for polar bears
by Hilary Chiew

Adapted to cold environments, two polar bears were hardly prepared for the ‘warm hospitality’ at Singapore Zoo, HILARY CHIEW reports.

VISITORS to Singapore Zoo might think the polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the glass-fronted enclosure are luxuriating in the cold pool water but in fact, the Arctic creatures are suffering from overheating.

A four-month investigation by an animal welfare group found sub-standard living environment that provides only a tiny part of a polar bear’s natural home range. The nomadic bear home range in the wild can reach 80,289 sq km but the zoo’s outdoor enclosure is a mere 391sq m.

In the report "What’s a polar bear doing in the tropic?" released early this month, Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) found, in its undercover work between September and December last year, mother bear, Sheba and her male offspring Inuka, exhibiting signs of severe heat stress.

Both bears constantly pant, in efforts to cool down. The bears pace and swim aimlessly, behaviour which indicates abnormal animal-environment interaction and a sign of psychological disorder. The bears also displayed high levels of inactivity, which researchers attributed to the environment failing to satisfy their natural inquisitiveness.

Long regarded as the par excellence zoological park in this region, Singapore Zoo acquired Sheba in 1978 from the Cologne Zoo in Germany when it was a two-year-old cub. Born in 1990, Inuka was sired by Nanook, which died in 1995.

Sheba anchored the polar bear exhibit in 1988, when the zoo introduced the display of Arctic animals. Visitors were invited to rub noses with the bears as a promotional gimmick.

The zoo, which attracts an annual 1.3 million visitors, claims in its website that it is successful not just in keeping polar bears but in breeding a male cub, the first in the tropics, because the enclosure has an air- conditioned den, a separate den for rearing cubs and a 3.5m deep pool for the bears to cool off.

Live fish are released into the pool to simulate wild conditions for the bears to go ”fishing” while meat and fruits are hidden in ice blocks for the bears to discover. The zoo says “as a physiological reaction to the warm climate, our polar bears have a thinner coat and they moult more often than their counterparts in cold countries”.

Not cool

However, the Acres investigation found the enclosure environment wanting. Report authors Ann Corrigan and Louis Ng say the pool temperature at 17°C is not cold enough as Arctic sea temperature remains around -20°C year round.

Any temperature above freezing is warm to a polar bear, which is physiologically built to retain its body heat. In fact, they will experience heat stress at an ambient temperature of 21.1°C. At the outdoor enclosure, Inuka and Sheba spend almost a quarter of the time lying spread-eagle in order to cool down.

Acres found the indoor air-conditioned dens to be too small for the bears to rest comfortably. Although neither bear has experienced Arctic conditions, this does not mean that they have adapted to the warm climate of Singapore.

The report says the bears still possess all the physiological adaptations to life in the Arctic, contrary to claims by the zoo.

“Even if they lose some fur and blubber, they will always have black skin that absorbs heat.” In fact, the ” thinner coat” is an exhibition of substantial fur loss and together with massive loss of lean muscle mass, are obvious physical signs of distress.

It also noted the occasional algae growth on the bears’ hair shaft, which gives them an appearance of green fur. This indicates that the pelt is constantly hot and damp.

The outdated concrete substrate and the limited ground space in the enclosure provide minimal stimuli to a species that forages, digs and builds day nest in the wild. The enclosures, the report concludes, do not meet many of the guidelines set by zoo associations and animal welfare organisations.

Bad choice

The report notes that studies have shown polar bears to be poor candidates for captivity even in the best circumstances, because they are extremely wide-ranging, cold weather carnivores that travel up to 80km or more in a day.

Progressive zoos in Britain, Switzerland and Germany are phasing out polar bears on welfare grounds. The polar bear specialist group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) does not advocate captive breeding of polar bears.

The report also questions the educational benefits of the daily ”token feeding” shows, which it found to promote unnatural animal behaviour and reinforces the outdated idea that zoo animals are for human amusement.

Highlights of the show include Sheba ”waving” and Inuka ”belly dancing” and ”clapping” before they are rewarded with food.

Since 2004, Acres has been in discussions with the zoo, calling for improvements to the bears’ living conditions. The majority of the recommendations were not implemented, including providing full air-conditioning (like for the penguins) and soft substrates for the bears to construct day beds, chilling the pool water and modification to feeding methods.

For the long term, Acres recommends relocating the bears since they cannot be released to the wild. However, Sheba is old and may not survive the relocation journey. Acres suggests that once Sheba passes away, Inuka be relocated to a facility with more appropriate climate like in Canada, to give it a better quality of life.

It also urges the zoo to end importation of Arctic animals.

In a press release announcing the launch of the report, Acres says it is pleased that the zoo agreed to the long-term solutions after it was presented with the findings in June.

Singapore Zoo has declined to comment on the Acres report.

Yahoo News 3 May 07
Singapore Zoo to keep polar bear: report

Singapore Zoo is to keep its male polar bear, despite criticism from an animal rights group that the Arctic animal should not stay in a tropical climate, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The Straits Times said managers had reversed a decision, taken last year, to move 16- year-old polar bear Inuka to a zoo in a temperate climate when his mother, Sheba, dies.

Executive director Fanny Lai told the paper the zoo was advised to keep Inuka by its Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee, which said moving him after the death of his mother would cause further stress.

Sheba is now 30, past the average life span of 25 years for polar bears in captivity. "He's a Singapore boy and is well-adjusted to the conditions here," Tommy Koh, a former chairman of the committee, was quoted as saying.

Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, a local animal rights group, has said living conditions in Singapore -- just 140 km (85 miles) north of the Equator -- were not suitable for polar bears, citing the hot climate and a small enclosure at the zoo.

According to the Straits Times, 67 percent of more than 5,300 people polled in Singapore did not want Inuka, the first polar bear born in the tropics, to leave the city-state.

Singapore Zoo has said that it will not bring any more polar bears into the country.
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