New Highland home will offer bear necessities to Mercedes

SHE has been a star attraction at Edinburgh Zoo for more than two decades, but Mercedes the polar bear is on the move.

And officials have revealed that polar bears will never again be kept at the Corstorphine attraction.

The announcement to remove Mercedes came yesterday, as plans to rehouse her at a four-acre enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park, near Inverness, were revealed.

Her move means that no UK zoo will now be home to any polar bears.

Iain Valentine, of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said: "It has been our intention to move Mercedes for a couple of years now. She has been quite happy at Edinburgh Zoo and her existing enclosure is perfectly adequate, but public perception has always been that they would like to see her in a large enclosure."

Edinburgh Zoo has come under constant criticism from animal rights campaigners since Mercedes was brought to the Capital in 1984 from her native Canada.

They argued her Victorian enclosure was cruel and denied her adequate space.

Today they spoke of their delight at hearing she would now be given greater freedom.

Ross Minett, campaigns director with Advocates for Animals, said: "Undoubtedly, if this move takes place, Mercedes will live in better conditions than those imposed upon her in the zoo.

"But however large an enclosure she is moved to, whilst it may be an improvement, it's only a fraction of the freedom a polar bear would enjoy in its natural environment.

"Having forced Mercedes into captivity and exploited her for entertainment for 25 years, this is the least that can be done to improve her quality of life."

Mercedes was rescued after Canadian officials planned to kill her once she began to roam from the wild into towns in search of food.

She was captured once, allowing a distinctive "39" to be marked on her coat so that she could be tracked. But it was on her third visit into a town that the decision was made to shoot her.

The RZSS stepped in at the request of residents who insisted the bear's life should be protected and Edinburgh Zoo was chosen as her new home.

She was relocated to Scotland with the financial assistance of the car company Mercedes, hence her name, and went on to mate with a bear called Barney, who died 13 years ago.

The pair had two cubs, To-Nuik and Ohoto, who have since been moved across the world.

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Zoo stressed that there would "definitely" be no more polar bears at the zoo.

She said that Mercedes would be sadly missed by staff and visitors, but that they intended to visit her at the Wildlife Park.

The cost of Mercedes' new enclosure is expected to be £75,000 and the Army will do much of the construction work.

Mr Valentine said: "If everything goes to plan, she will be in her new Highland home by the end of the year."