“While we love Ben, and wish he could stay with us, our goal is to do what is best for him,” said Regina Mossotti, Vice President of Animal Care, Saint Louis Zoo. Their Andean bear habitat that includes a moat rather than steel mesh outdoor habitat, which the group believes would be a more ideal environment for Ben. The Gladys Porter Zoo is an AZA-accredited zoo with a long history of working with Andean bears. Together, the group agrees that it is in Ben’s best interest to transfer him to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. Ben was born at and is on loan from the WCS’s Queens Zoo.Įven though the Andean bear habitat at the Saint Louis Zoo met all standards for this species set forth by the AZA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prior to the habitat’s opening in 2014, and has housed several bears successfully during that time, the SSP, the TAG, the WCS’s Queens Zoo, and the Saint Louis Zoo team focused on Ben’s specific and unique personality to help determine the best home for the young bear. The AZA Bear TAG consists of bear expert advisors who help to identify, manage and support AZA’s cooperative animal care programs to support zoos that work with bears.
The Saint Louis Zoo is partners with the AZA Andean Bear SSP, which is a conservation breeding program that manages a genetically healthy population of this endangered species in North American zoos.
Louis, Mo (March 21, 2023) Saint Louis Zoo staff experts have consulted with members of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) Andean Bear Species Survival Plan (SSP), the AZA Bear Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Queens Zoo in New York to determine next steps with Andean bear Ben.
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