Unique baby news at Orsa Predator Park in Dalarna, Sweden

A little miracle has been born at Orsa Predator Park in Dalarna! The park is home to some of the Northern Hemisphere's largest predators, like Siberian tigers, polar bears, eagle owls, leopards and Kodiak bears. Two of the park’s polar bears, the male Wilbär and the female Ewa, are part of an important preservation project controlled by the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria), and they have lived here since 2009. Polar World at Orsa Predator Park is the only place in Sweden where visitors can see polar bears, usually all year round, but in September 2020 something exciting happened. Ewa went into hibernation, which only happens when female polar bears are expecting cubs. Since Wilbär and Ewa have lived at the park for over 10 years this was a happy occasion!

Nerve-racking period

It is unusual that polar bears have cubs in zoos, and only fifty percent of the cubs survive the first critical weeks. For the caretakers in the park this period was quite worrisome, but they could follow the progress of the cub through a live camera.
–The first couple of weeks wer nerve-racking of course, since it was a big risk that the cub would not survive, says Johanna Berglund, caretaker in the park. We have given Ewa space to be a calm and collected mother and been careful not to push it. It is important to always see to the animals needs and respect their boundaries.

Exploring Polar World

The cub is now almost 4 months old and have started to leave the den to explore the outside world with its mother. Ewa and the cub has been seen enjoying the snow in Polar World and playing together, but the cub never stays far away from its mother’s side. Some of the parks lucky visitors have been able to catch a glimpse of the cub, and during the spring it will start to swim and spend more time outside. The birth of the cub is a great success considering polar bears are endangered in the wild, mainly because of melting ice and climate change.

The purpose of Orsa Predator Park is to preserve, research and inform, since some of the animals in the park are endangered. The animals roam in large enclosures that are designed to resemble their natural environment and where they can behave like they would in the wild. Visitors may learn more about the four largest predators in Sweden (wolverine, wolf, lynx and brown bear) as well as the other animals in the park. The park is open all year round.