Polar bear has arrived on holiday to award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Brodie will temporarily be moving to YWP from Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland whilst they carry out building work in his enclosure.

His older brother Hamish moved to Project Polar in Yorkshire five years ago.

Dr Charlotte MacDonald, Director of Animals, said: “We are delighted to welcome Brodie at Project Polar and are looking forward to seeing what he makes of his big brother Hamish and his other new friends here at Project Polar. It will be quite an experience for him!

“It may be a while before we can assess if Brodie can be introduced to Hamish and the other bears and we will be monitoring him closely.

“It is important that he settles into his new home before he can meet the other polar bears.

“Any initial introduction will take place via a wire mesh to ensure all the bears are safe and relaxed.”

Bex Brown, who heads up the Park’s Carnivore team is pleased how Brodie is settling in so far.

“It will be quite a change for Brodie who has been on his own for a while and before that was just with his mother. He will have to learn a whole new set of polar bear social skills as he gets to know the older adult bears here.

“The other bears are very interested now that they have seen him in the distance though I think he is probably wondering ‘ who are all these bears!

“He is really interested to see them which is positive and over the next few weeks we will start to introduce him through the mesh to the other bears individually to see how they react to each other. Hamish is used to being the centre of attention so it will be interesting to see what he thinks to the new kid on the block!”

Project Polar spans 10 acres and was designed to replicate the Arctic tundra found in North Canada during the summer. It is home to Nobby, Hamish, Luka, Sisu, Indiana and Yuma.

Daren McGarry, head of living collections at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said: “While we will miss Brodie while he is on his holidays, it is great to be able to fully concentrate on the work needed in his habitat.

“His brother Hamish has been amazingly cared for by the team down at Yorkshire and we know they will look after Brodie with the same expertise. We can’t wait to see how they interact with each other when they are introduced in the future.”

Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which puts conservation at the heart of all its activities, offers visitors a mesmerising walk-through experience coming almost face-to-face with some of the world’s most beautiful and at-risk species, including Polar Bears, Black Rhinos, Giraffes and African Painted Dogs.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Resort boasts The Hex Wildlife Hotel and The Yorkshire Hive – the shopping, dining and entertainment village.