“When you read a situation, you know some things you just have to help with.”
Jimmy Doherty, of Suffolk’s Jimmy’s Farm, said he never planned to have polar bears in the wildlife park in Wherstead.
But the bear needed rescuing, and the team are planning to recreate her natural environment as much as possible.
Ewa, pronounced Eva in Swedish, was rescued from a zoo that was closing in Sweden called Orsa Rovdjurspark (Orsa Predator Park).
Jimmy's Farm will be opening The Lost Lands of the Tundra, Europe’s largest polar bear reserve on Saturday (October 21), named after the huge expanse of wilderness that stretches from north America and across Eurasia.
Mr Doherty said: “Through climate change, temperatures are rising, and permafrost is defrosting, releasing methane that has been locked away for thousands of years. We would like to inspire people to think about these last wildernesses.
“Conservation has always been at my core, and for us it’s really important that we achieve the most naturalistic feel for the animals.”
The polar bear arrived at the farm this month, after a year of work and a trip on the Eurotunnel.
In her area, she has six acres of woodland, with grasses and wildflowers, a saltwater bath, along with two lakes – one eight metres deep and the other around 14 metres deep – allowing her to regulate her temperature and keep cool.
Mr Doherty said: “We are planning to put a lot of stimulation in her environment, hanging food up or allowing food to sink in the lakes so she can dive down deep, as in the wild she would dive for her food.
“She loves an early morning dip. She will wake up, then cruises off and jumps in to one of the lakes. It’s amazing to watch.”
To help care for Ewa, the farm works closely with European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), sharing information and ongoing research into European conservation.
Jimmy’s Farm will also launch a new charity called Space for the Wild, raising money for polar bear conservation in the wild, and conservation projects all over the world.
There are plans to build an open-air ‘carbon classroom’ in the woods, teaching young people about the simple things they can do help tackle climate change.
Jimmy would like to young people to come and get inspired by what they see – Britain’s largest Arctic Wolf pack, Ewa swimming, and the Arctic foxes and the reindeer – and then move into the carbon classroom and see the small things that can make a difference.
The farm is also fundraising to save a brown bear called Diego, the last bear at the park in Sweden.
“We have raised half of the money we need and have joined forces with Wildwood in Devon, who already have brown bears and have a facility they can house him over the winter,” Mr Doherty said.
“He is about to go into his torpor, his semi-hibernation, and we haven’t got the facility quite yet and he’s got to go in two weeks or else he is put to sleep.
“Our colleagues at Wildwood said they would take him over the winter, so we can go on creating his habitat.
“I remember writing in my last book and saying I would never really want to have big animals in the wildlife park like tigers or polar bears, but when you read a situation, you know some things you just have to help with.
“If you have the ability to help, you should do. It’s almost your decision has been made for you in some ways.
“I also want to say a massive thank you to our community. We have had so much goodwill from our community and businesses, it is really touching.”
To donate to help save Diego, visit the GoFundMe page.
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