The loss of Hope

Young Hope at Marineland

We just received the terrible news of Hope's passing during a dental procedure at Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park. The daughter of Flocke and Raspi, she would have been 11 years old in November.

Flocke and Baby Hope in 2015

Flocke and Hope in 2015

Hope at 5 months in Marineland

Hope seemed to have lead a charmed life. She was a beloved new arrival at Marineland on the French Riviera when the famous Flocke gave birth back in 2014. Because Flocke was raised by her keepers, some doubted that she would have the mothering instinct, but Flocke turned out to be an exemplary mother.

Hope and Flocke in 2017

Hope  grew up adored by so many, and lived in a magical place. She even had a snow grotto, which she loved to roll around in with her mom Flocke. 

Flocke and Hope in the ice grotto

Dad Raspi was curious about his daughter and she was also interested in what Raspi was doing. It was a lovely family and there was always something fun going on.

Hope visits with Daddy Raspi

Flocke and Hope in 2017

Hope and Flocke in 2016

In 2018 Hope was three years old, and moved to Orsa Bear Park in Sweden, where she lived in a snowy wilderness with Eva and Wilbär. There she gave birth to twin boys in 2021, Nannok and Noori. 

Hope's father Raspi moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, then to Tallinn Estonia, and is now in Aalborg Denmark. After Raspi moved from YWP, Flocke and her triplets moved from Marineland to Doncaster to the same enclosure Raspi had occupied, far from the bachelor group. Sadly, Marineland eventually closed, but the bears had already moved.

Drama for Hope and the other polar bears in Orsa ensued when the Park was announced to be closing, and after some scrambling to find the bears a new home, Hope and her boys were sent to Peak Wildlife Park in the UK. Ewa moved to Jimmy's, and Wilbär moved to Ouwehands.

The boys Nannok and Noori stayed behind at Peak Wildlife Park when Hope moved to Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park last year, where Hope was reunited with her mother Flocke, and also her old friend Ewa. Hope met her younger sister Tala there too. The other two of Flocke's triplets, the boys Indie and Yuma, live in YWP in Doncaster.

Hope was a lovely bear. It was nice that she could be reunited with her mother and meet her sister. The family partly back together again. We will all miss sweet Hope.

Hope in Marineland

Corinna and Anton together again

Corinna

 Today I received word from a friend that beautiful Corinna, with her lovely fluffy big ears, has left us. She was 28 years old.

Corinna

Corinna was born in Copenhagen in 1989, and spent most of her life in the elegant Wilhelma Zoological Park in Stuttgart, Germany with her adored Anton.

Corinna's half brother, with the same father, was the famous Wilhelm, or Willie, born in 1985, who had been sold by the Copenhagen Zoo at the age of 4 months to private owners and spent 16 years sweltering and being forced to perform in a poor Mexican circus. He was rescued in 20o2 along with six other polar bears when the circus overwintered in Puerto Rico, which is a territory of the U.S. Thankfully, Willie lived in comfort the rest of his life, in the North Carolina Zoo, and then the Milwaukee County Zoo, where he died in 2013. 

 Corinna was spared that fate, and was sent to Germany. Anton and Corinna arrived at the Wilhelma together, at the age of one, and grew up as playmates. As they matured, the zoo expected that they would have cubs. They waited and waited. No cubs.

Anton and Corinna

But then Corinna surprised the polar bear world when she gave birth to Wilbär in the fall of 2007 at the ripe old age of 18. The zoo kept his birth a secret, for fear of too much press attention as happened to Knut in Berlin, and was happening at the same time in Nuremburg with Flocke's birth.  Mother Corinna took good care of her only child, but there was an early separation in the spring of 2009, when Corinna and young Wilbär  engaged in some aggressive behavior, sometimes resulting in blood. Maybe it was because Corinna was anxious to get back to her Anton, for they truly were a love match.

Corinna and her beloved Anton

Every afternoon, for most of their lives together, Anton and Corinna would settle in for the famous ear licking ritual, something quite uncommon for polar bears. I have only seen one other pair engage in ear licking, best friends Nancy and Tosca in Berlin Zoo.

Corinna licking Anton's ear

Anton would climb onto the central rock perch in the left hand side, and lay there while Corinna spent long periods of time licking his right ear, while Anton closed his eyes with enjoyment.

Corinna shows her love

The pair seemed to never tire of this rite of affection.

How Anton loved it

They were separated for a period of several years when Corinna had her cub. During this time, Anton really missed Corinna. He pined away for her. The zoo painted the separating glass with whitewash so he couldn't see her, but still he pined, for he could hear her, and smell her.

Love in the afternoon

When young Wilbär left the Wilhelma, he moved to the polar bear Paradise of Orsa Bear Park in Sweden, where he was soon joined by a young girl bear named Ewa, but no cubs have resulted. This past fall, another young girl cub named Hope, the daughter of Flocke and Raspi, has arrived in Orsa so Wilbär now has two girlfriends. 

Swimming with Anton

With Wilbär gone north, Anton and Corinna were reunited, and lived together for many happy years and countless afternoons of ear licking.

Anton and Corinna

Corinna and Anton

Then there was a terrible tragedy in early 2014, when some thoughtless  visitor threw a backpack into the enclosure, Anton ate the contents, and it ended up killing him.

Pretty Corinna

Corinna lived alone in the ensuing years, with several suitors coming to call, but no one could replace Anton, her true love.

From 2014, Yoghi naps while Corinna swims, avoiding him

Yoghi came to the Wilhelma in 2014 when Giovanna, who had given birth to twins the previous fall, needed privacy and space to raise her family, so Yoghi stayed for seven months in Stuttgart, but then returned to his family in nearby Munich. Corinna tolerated Yoghi, but was happy when he left.

From 2015, Corinna on the left, Felix on the right

In 2015, Felix came to visit for 8 months, after Vera had baby Charlotte in Nuremburg. Again, Corinna tolerated him, but was happy when he moved on and she could be alone.

Corinna on the balancing rock

Corinna

After that, the zoo decided Corinna should have her privacy so she has lived alone for the past three years, happily enjoying her solitude.

Corinna and a play stick

I like to think of the beautiful Corinna being reunited with her Anton again, for they were so happy together.

Corinna follows Anton

More ear licking

The cause of death has not been announced.

Corinna on the balancing rock

 

Farewell, beautiful Corinna

 

Hope's new adventure

Hope in front, and her mother Flocke, behind

For a polar bear cub born on the French Riviera, a move to snowy Sweden has to be quite a change, but Hope is up for a new adventure. Hope is now three years old, and it is time to move on. She has just moved to Orsa Bear Park, which is said to be a paradise for polar bears, and is reported to be happily rolling in the snow on her first day out yesterday. Hope was accompanied by a familiar keeper who will help her adjust to her new environment.

Hope at 5 months old

Hope was born November 25, 2014, when Flocke was almost 7 years old.  Because Flocke had been hand raised by her keepers in Nuremburg Tiergarten in Germany, some worried that she might not know how to be a good polar bear mother, but her instincts have been perfect as she guided her daughter to independence. 

Flocke and Hope swimming

Hope, the three year old daughter of Flocke and Rasputin, had stayed with her mother past her third birthday. Usually, mother bears become impatient with their young ones at the age of 2 or 2 1/2 and sometimes even younger, but Flocke has been very patient with Hope, treasuring the time with her. 

Hope nuzzles her mother

But it is time for Flocke to be reunited with her beloved Raspi, and time for grown up Hope to be on her own, as in nature.

Hope and Flocke in the mother-cub area playing follow the leader

Rasputin is the same age as Flocke, and was born in Moscow, but came to Nuremburg when he was 11 months old as a companion to Flocke. They have been together ever since, moving to a brand new state of the art polar bear environment in Marineland in Antibes, France, in 2010.

Raspi, Raspoutine, Rasputin

Flocke and Hope shared living space for three years, rotating between the upper and lower enclosure at Marineland, while father Rasputin lived in his own in a separate but nearby enclosure. 

Hope swimming and playing as her fans watch

Hope on the left, Raspi on the right.
There are communication holes in the walls between the pools.

Raspi could see, hear and smell his daughter through holes between the upper enclosures, and they always were very interested in each other. When Hope was in the lower enclosure, he could hike down into a trench to see her through the separating grid upon occasion.

Raspi on the other side of the grid visits with his daughter Hope

Marineland has three polar bear living areas, two with large pools, and one designed for a mother and cubs with a small pool. There are also two ice grottoes with ice machines manufacturing cold white stuff to keep the bears cool.

Hope rolling in the snow in the ice cave

Since Marineland has three enclosures, there was always the option of putting Hope into her own space if Flocke indicated she was tired of mothering. Instead, the separation will be much further, as Hope has moved this week to Orsa Bear Park in Sweden, where she will have acres of snow, lots of trees and ponds, and the Northern Lights, in a very natural setting for polar bears, even though polar bears are not native to Sweden.

Hope has always enjoyed lots of toys.
She probably won't have them in the natural bear park.
 Instead, she will have lots of space and natural activities.

Hope and a favorite blue ball at Marineland

Another ball for Hope

 Hope will spend her days sliding down snowing hills and rolling in snowbanks. In the summer, she can roam the woodlands, swim in the pond and roll in the dirt. Since Orsa is a natural park, she probably won't have the toys and balls that she enjoyed so much as she was growing up. Instead she will have many natural activities for a grown up polar bear. 

I have not been to Orsa, but the photos and maps are impressive, and those who have seen it say that it is the perfect place for a polar bear. Orsa Grönnklitt is large and natural and the animals live in forested areas with varied terrain. It is Europe's largest predator park. 

There she will join two older bears: 10 year old Wilbär, who was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and 12 year old Ewa, one of Huggies' triplets from the Netherlands.

Hope and her crazy egg

 

Hope and her water toys

 

Hope

 

Hope

Hope and her mother Flocke

 Best of luck, little Hope, in your new home with your new friends. You are indeed a lucky bear to be living in such a wonderful park. And your parents will be happy to be back together again.