A more than 30-year-old brown bear named Felix died in the zoo in Bratislava on Saturday (June 13). The bear, which was one of the zoo’s iconic animals, had to be euthanized for serious health reasons. For many years he lived in an enclosure, which is one of the original enclosures of the zoo from the 60s. TASR was informed about this by the head of the zoo’s marketing department, Zuzana Očenášová.
- More than thirty-year-old Felix the bear was euthanized in the Bratislava zoo.
- Felix had to be put to sleep due to the rapid deterioration of his health despite treatment.
- Felix the bear was born in the Bratislava zoo in 1995.
- In 2024, they expanded its original enclosure with an adjacent forest part.
- The new enclosure for bears is to have 15,000 square meters of natural habitat.
“The death of our bear Felix is a very sad news for us. His health began to deteriorate due to his age, despite intensive veterinary care. The rapid deterioration occurred during the weekend, and after an examination by a veterinarian, we had to put the individual to sleep“, explained the director of the zoo, Matej Dobšovič.
Felix was born in Bratislava Zoo in 1995. He was a relatively timid individual, according to the zoo, he perceived every change in his home very sensitively. Three years ago, it was decided to expand his original paddock, after consultation with experts, such a solution was adopted instead of the construction of a new paddock. In 2024, the bear’s original enclosure was expanded to include a neighboring forest area.
According to the zoo, the bear, which had known only its old enclosure all its life, had preserved access to it and at the same time was provided with a natural forest environment. However, it took several weeks before he first ventured into the extended section. According to the zoo, he reacted very positively to the new environment and spent a lot of time in it – he slept in a new den, dug up plant roots, walked on sloping terrain and was more active.
The zoo is currently designing a new enclosure for brown bears in the Carpathian Forest, in which the most natural habitat should be preserved. From the original 800 square meters in which Felix lived, the new bear den will be on an area of 15,000 square meters. The bears will no longer be housed in the original enclosure where Felix lived.
