Army helps a charity get ready for its new polar bear arrival
More than 60 military personnel have arrived in the Highlands to help create a new home for a female polar bear.
Due to arrive next spring, the female will join Walker and Arktos, Scotland’s only resident males, with the hope of hearing the pitter patter of polar bear cub paws in the future.
Lodging at the Rothiemurchus Estate, the Engineers from 71 Engineer Regiment and a contingent from the South Dakota National Guard have kicked off work on the new 300 metre (984ft) walkway and one hectare polar bear enclosure being developed on the south west side of the Highland Wildlife Park.
The project commenced on Sunday September and will run through until Thursday 18 September.
It is a massive undertaking and includes work on four separate construction areas; the military personal are digging in over 200 posts by hand that range from 3 metres to 6 metres (9ft 10-19ft 8) high.
As a conservation charity we are also delighted to receive the donation of the military’s experience and labour
Steven Plowman, Highland Wildlife Park property and estates manager, said: “I was approached by the military personnel to see if we could offer them a task for their operatives; they were looking to do practical engineering work within the local community that allowed them to create something permanent for people to enjoy for many years to come.
“It's a win-win for all. As a conservation charity we are also delighted to receive the donation (worth an amazing £45,000) of the military’s experience and labour. Incredibly, each post hole is dug by hand with fencing shovels and then the posts themselves are loaded onto army vehicles and taken out to the site of the new development.”
The new enclosure will feature a pond for the female to splash and play in and plenty of natural ground for her to run and roll around on.
In addition to the main enclosure, adjacent will be a smaller holding enclosure, also featuring a pond, for when the male comes to visit.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has a history of designing state of the art polar bear enclosures that meet the animal’s needs to the highest level possible. Animal experts from the Park have since been invited to consult and advise on other polar bear enclosures both in the UK and around the world.
Also in development is a raised walkway through the vicuna enclosure. The viewing platform will wind up the hill to give a panoramic view of the female polar bear enclosure and also provide disabled access to visitors.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Mifsud RE, Commanding Officer of 71 Engineer Regiment said: “This project, involving a blend of Reservists from 71 Engineer Regiment, Regular Sappers from our partnered Regular unit in Kinloss and military engineers from the South Dakota National Guard, provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the depth and diversity of skills required to plan, resource and deliver an ambitious project in such short time. It provides vital training for the Regiment's role on future operations.
"I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to work with the Society again; this sort of work develops individual trade skills; inspires my soldiers and generates an enormous amount of interest from those who seek to add a new dimension to their lives as a Royal Engineer Reservist.”
