But keepers think Quechua, a young adult male, has been acting strangely because he is so keen to mate with female Bahia.
In the wild, Andean bears come together only when they want to breed but in captivity at Durrell they are together all year round.
Work on creating a second enclosure for the bears on the other side of the Zoo is due to begin later this year. This will allow keepers to separate them and help Quechua – or Chui, as he is nicknamed – focus his mind on something else.
‘We are not seeing the stereotypy behaviour as much now,’ said Dom Wormell, head of mammals.
‘We saw it more when the female was in season. Chui was showing rocking behaviours and banging a slide.
‘Stereotypy, or zoochosis, which is essentially the same thing, is not something I can remember seeing in Jersey before. It tends to occur in animals in small or poor enclosures or circus animals. The enclosures here are good and much better than they used to be. We think Chui has been frustrated because he’s wanted to mate with the female. While we do want them to mate we don’t want it to happen all of the time.’
Signs were erected around the bear enclosure, which is directly opposite the entrance to the Zoo, informing the public that staff were aware of Chui’s strange behaviours. The signs, Mr Wormell said, have now been removed. The mammal expert added that he was pleased members of the public had aired their concerns about the bear’s behaviour to staff, as it showed that people were concerned for the animals.
Until the new enclosure opens Mr Wormell said keepers were providing extra enrichment, including different scents around his current habitat, to keep him occupied.
‘We are forever striving to make things better. Thinking about Gerald Durrell, one of his ultimate aims was for Jersey Zoo to close down because we would not need it. So seeing people who are concerned is encouraging.
‘Spectacled or Andean Bear homes are vanishing in the wild in South America due to the development of cattle ranches. They are endangered and there are only 136 in captivity worldwide. To be genetically viable we need at least 300 in captivity.’
Chui, who was born in captivity, was brought to Jersey in 2013 from Holland after the Zoo’s previous adult bears, Barbara and Wolfgang, died.
