BEIJING- A UK wildlife park has confirmed that it is offering a new home to a “lonely” polar bear named Pizza who is living trapped in a Chinese mall.
A source from the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, England told BBC News that it had approached Grandview Centre in China’s Guangzhou city. Mall authorities have not yet responded to the public offer. The captive bear made global headlines in July after a viral petition to close the “ocean theme park”.
Videos emerged of a “teary-eyed” bear slumped on the floor of his glass enclosure. The indoor zoo is also home to beluga whales, walrus calves, a wolf and arctic foxes. While its owners insisted they have since made improvements, the Animals Asia charity said conditions were still cramped, with “nothing natural”.
“We would be delighted to see Pizza end up at Yorkshire Wildlife Park,” said Animals Asia’s Welfare Director Dave Neale. “There can be a happy ending - Pizza would not only enjoy incredible facilities, he would also be part of a community of bears.” The charity also said that no financial payment had been offered for the bear, “with the fear that any funds could be used to buy more animals”. The Yorkshire Wildlife Park houses a specially-created habitat for polar bears, which is currently home to four animals.
Described as an “innovative habitat for polar bears”, Project Polar is also a research centre designed to help wild bears and those from other zoos around the world - including lions from Afghanistan as well as a young giraffe from Copenhagen zoo which was ultimately destroyed.
