A New York-born bear that escaped twice from its enclosure at the St. Louis, has been moved to a Texas facility where it should be moated, officials said.
Ben, a 4-year-old Andean bear, made national headlines after the runaway artist broke out of his outdoor environment twice in February.
On Tuesday, officials at the St. Louis announced that after considering Ben’s “specific and unique personality,” the 280-pound bear shall be moved to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.
There, his new paddock shall be moated, unlike the steel-mesh outdoor habitat that has proven ineffective at keeping the bruin confined.
“We considered all options,” said Regina Mossotti, vp of the St. Louis Animal Welfare, said St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday.
“We love Ben. He’s such a character that the crew that sorted him fell in love with him. He’s so funny, so funny – we wish we could keep him here.”
Ben, born at the Queens Zoo and sent to St. Louis in 2021, escaped for the first time on February 7 from River’s Edge “immersive exhibition” after breaking through the steel mesh “in the right place”. officials said. He was captured about 40 minutes later, before the zoo opened for the day.
Zoo staff then “made the habitat much more secure by adding 450-pound stainless-steel cargo clips.”
But Ben fell out again on February 24 when he crawled through a hole in the chain link fence where he’s attached to a bracket.
The escape sparked panic amongst visitors, who sought shelter in “various confined facilities” while staff searched the area for the escapee around 1 p.m., the zoo said.
About 50 minutes later, according to reports, Ben was spotted about 100 feet from the fence and shot with a tranquilizer dart.
After the second escape, the director of the St. Louis, Michael Macek said Ben won’t be reinserted into the habitat until the zoo is “absolutely certain” that he won’t find a way to get out again.
The enclosure for Andean bears was built in 2014 and met all the standards of the species. Staff have cared for Andean bears without escapees in the past, the zoo said.
Ben currently lives in an indoor and outdoor facility in a private area of the St. Louis, where he’s undergoing “positive reinforcement training,” so his journey south in a travel crate goes easily, the zoo said on Tuesday.
Walter Dupree, mammal keeper at Gladys Porter Zoo, told the Post-Dispatch that the zoo is prepared for Ben’s arrival.
“We’re sure it’ll be good for Ben. It has proven itself over the years,” Dupree said of the habitat.
He said the moat, about 8 feet deep, is in front of the exhibit. An additional electrical cord is added to the top of the 16-foot wall along the boat, which might give Ben a slight shock if he climbed up.
“We do not put it where it may possibly get to it unless it pushes,” said Dupree.
Andean bears are also referred to as spectacled bears due to the unique individualized markings on their faces that may resemble glasses. They’re the only bear species native to South America and live in mountain forests stretching from Bolivia to Venezuela.
They’ve been listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, with a declining population of only 2,500 to 10,000 mature animals left in the wild.