Bear necessities: cooler home for S. Korea's last polar bear

The last polar bear kept in South Korea will be sent to Britain to escape the country's stifling, humid summers and live out his days in more appropriate surroundings, zookeepers said Thursday.

Tongki -- a 23-year-old male named after a Japanese cartoon character of the 1980s -- lives in a 330-square-metre (3500-square-foot) concrete enclosure at the Everland theme park outside Seoul.

Born in captivity at a zoo in the southern city of Masan, Tongki is the only polar bear in South Korea and has been living alone in Everland since his last fellow resident died three years ago.

As temperatures inched towards 30 degrees Celsius Thursday, Tongki cooled off in a pool while zookeepers threw him fish to eat.

This November he will be moved to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the north of England.

The park boasts a 40,000-square-metre polar bear reserve designed to replicate the animals' Arctic summer habitat, complete with several lakes.

"I just hope he spends his last years in greater happiness and a better environment," keeper Lee Kwang-hee told AFP, holding back tears.

Four polar bears already live at the Yorkshire park -- Victor, Pixel, Nissan and Nobby -- although whether Tongki joins them will depend on whether they accept him.

Everland said Tongki will not be replaced, and other South Korean zoos have no plans to import the animals, which are classed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of endangered species.

Animal rights activists in South Korea, who have long urged zoos not to keep polar bears, welcomed Everland's decision.

"For polar bears, spending the hot summer in this country is very torturous," campaign group Care said in a statement.

"If he were a man, Tongki would be in his eighties. He has lived life alone without family or friends for too long."

Related Links
Beyond the Ice Age

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

More detailed data on thermal conditions of Arctic ground
Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Jun 12, 2018
Understanding the thermal conditions of the ground in the Arctic is of utmost importance in order to assess the effects of climate change on the occurrence of permafrost, on the ecosystems and societies of Arctis, and the global climate system. Juha Aalto and Miska Luoto, researchers in natural geography at the University of Helsinki, participated in this study. The findings of the study have been published in the international journal Geophysical Research Letters. The research has been carried ou ... read more