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At Tierpark Bern, the bear and wolf enclosures are built in such a way that the wolves can enter the Ussurian brown bear enclosure through specially designed locks. Bears cannot pass through these locks, so the supposedly weaker animal, the wolf, has the opportunity to retreat. Wolf and bear also share nanaturally the living space. Accordingly, they have a repertoire of behaviors to live side by side and get along with each other. Arguing about food or popular spots, being curious about others and challenging each other a little are all part of it. Such interactions between the two species are very species-specific and nature-given behavioral enrichments. They also require a lot of attention, care and sensitivity from the animal caretakers so that situations that cause too much stress for an animal can be avoided.
After the new breeding female gave birth to offspring for the first time in spring 2022, the two adult, still inexperienced wolves were so dominant that the Ussurian bears behaved in a very stressed manner. Therefore, the lock between the two animal species was closed immediately and the wolves spent the first almost 3 months exclusively in the wolf enclosure. In mid-July 2022, when the young wolves had already grown impressively, the adult wolves were relaxed enough again so that the bear and wolf were able to meet again. Since then, the wolves can often be observed with the bears and if something happens to the bears, the adult wolves are immediately on the spot and curious. For example, when the bears were given an elk antler to keep them busy.
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