In the 1990s, Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen was asked whether it was willing to accommodate a number of bears in the park. These were bears that had been severely abused physically and mentally. For the shelter, the park was able to become the owner of a plot of land of 20,000 square meters. That land bordered directly on the zoo: ‘The Bear Forest’ was a fact. In 2017, Ouwehands Zoo will be responsible for two giant pandas. These are housed in Pandasia, the giant toad enclosure, which is completely designed in traditional Chinese architectural style. The purpose of the stay is to protect the giant panda. The Netherlands is one of the few countries outside China where the endangered giant pandas can be seen.
The Bear Forest and the first inhabitants
When the ‘Rhenen Bear Forest Foundation’ was founded in 1993, they immediately had to work very hard to complete the bear forest. The first shelter bears were figuratively ready to be placed immediately. The first residents were the bears Mackenzie and Nelly. Mackenzie was a so-called dancing bear who ‘performed’ at a restaurant in the Bosnian town of Vitez. Due to the war that was raging there at the time, his owner had fled the violence and left the bear behind. English UN soldiers found it in a very poor and neglected condition. He was brought to Rhenen together with another dancing bear, bear Nelly. The bears Geert and Trudy from Ouwehands Zoo itself were placed in the Bear Forest. Beer Jo came from the famous Berenkuil in Maastricht to complete the group.
The further development
The bears appeared to recover so well, especially psychologically, that in the following year ten bears from different countries were placed in the Bear Forest. Mascha and Batir were taken from a circus in Moscow and had to perform terrible feats. Then Niki and the bear triplets Wolke, Axel and Tory were added. They would be killed if nothing was done. That same year, three Turkish dancing bears were brought in. These were liberated by Turkish animal organizations in a nighttime operation. They were cut loose from the trees to which they were chained. The animals were in bad shape. Koroglû and Bora were blind and severely abused. Fiona had not escaped abuse either. Before being placed in the Bear Forest, these three animals were first kept in quarantine for a while and had to undergo various operations on their nose, lips and eyes. Bjona was the last placed bear that year. In 2000, Lalja and Fenja came to Rhenen. Both came from Moscow. Ljalja was locked in a cellar to serve as a laboratory animal.
From shelter to protection
The ‘Stichting Berenbos Rhenen’ increasingly started to shift the emphasis on the welfare of the bears. The shelter for abused animals continued, but protection and education became increasingly important. This is how the first protection project in Russia was set up. There, orphaned bears were cared for and prepared to return to nature. The first education project was in India with the aim of helping the population to live together with bears in their area.
The Berenbos Rhenen Foundation has become Alertis
Alertis foundation for bear and nature conservation
Due to the changing objectives of the foundation, the name ‘Stichting Berenbos Rhenen’ has been changed to the name ‘Alertis’. Alertis foundation for bear and nature conservation.
Some examples of Alertis’ work
- Bear conservation project in Bulgaria and Georgia.
- Education projects in Indonesia and Russia.
- People help protect their sheep flocks, beehives and orchards from bears.
- Breeding special sheepdog breed.
- Protection of some animal species that also occur in the bear habitat, such as the Amur leopard and the Siberian tiger
Alertis will continue to work to secure the future of the bear, both in nature and in captivity.
An enormous window as an observation post of Expedition Berenbos
The observation post of Expedition Berenbos was opened in 2016. You have a beautiful view of Het Berenbos through a huge window. You can find information about the brown bear and animals from its habitat. And of course also from the temporary guest: the Malayan bear.
Two giant pandas in Ouwehands Zoo
Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to zoological cooperation between the Netherlands and China in 2015. This happened during the state visit of King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima to China. Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen is responsible for the implementation of this collaboration. It is responsible for two giant pandas. A cooperation agreement has been signed for this purpose by Ouwehands Zoo and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association. The aim of this collaboration is the protection of the giant panda. The Netherlands is one of the few countries outside China where the endangered giant pandas can be seen. The zoo has spent years building up knowledge about breeding, caring for, housing and protecting bears.
Some facts about the giant panda
The giant panda:
- is an endangered species. There are approximately 1850 giant pandas left in the wild (in 2016).
- only occurs in the wild in China.
- eats almost exclusively bamboo.
- weighs approximately 100 grams at birth.
- as an adult it weighs about 100 kilos.
Pandasia the Giant Panda enclosure
The 3,400 m² giant panda enclosure consists of two parts, a separate indoor and outdoor enclosure for the male and the female. There are:
- multiple night accommodations,
- a maternity room,
- a cold room for bamboo storage
- a clinic.
Pandasia is part of a larger Asian habitat in the zoo, which houses various Asian animal species . A Chinese-Asian restaurant and a panda shop complete the picture.
Pandasia in traditional Chinese architectural style
Pandasia consists of two building parts, which are connected by a wooden bridge. The roof and facade constructions are made in China using traditional methods. Pandasia is built in traditional Chinese style with Chinese elements, ornaments and accessories. The facades have round elements with Chinese scenes. The roof has the typical traditional Chinese handmade roof tiles that, like roof and facade constructions, are made in China.
The Pandas are called Wu Wen and Xing Ya
The two giant pandas are expected in Ouwehands Zoo in the spring of 2017.
The female is called Wu Wen and means ‘beautiful powerful cloud’. The male is called Xing Ya and means ‘elegant star’.