South Yorkshire zoo bid to save 'Mexican' polar bear

A wildlife park in South Yorkshire has announced plans to rescue a polar bear from a zoo in Mexico.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster, has offered to rehome Yupi in a newly constructed 10 acre reserve but needs to raise £150,000 to do so.

A park spokesperson said Yupi was currently kept in a concrete enclosure in soaring temperatures, with "little shade and little stimulation".

The park is waiting for an official response to its offer to rehome Yupi.

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It would mean a move of more 5,500 miles (8,900 km) away from Mexico for the polar bear.

According to the Save Yupi website, Yupi is 22 years old and was brought to the Parque Zoológico Benito Juárez, in Morelia, Mexico, from Alaska in 1992.

A Yorkshire Wildlife Park spokesperson said: "Her concrete enclosure has little shade, and little stimulation.

"The soaring temperatures are difficult for a polar bear to deal with as they easily overheat."

The park, which rescued 13 lions from Romania in 2010, began work on the new enclosure after being approached to see if it would offer a home to Yupi.

The reserve will be divided into four sections featuring hills, valleys and a main lake with streams, pools and waterfalls.

Its landscaping will mirror the Arctic Tundra with grass, herbs, shrubs and heathers.

It is expected to be completed in 2014.

The only other polar bears in a UK zoo are at the Highland Wildlife Park, in Scotland.

Park Director John Minion said: "This is the ultimate project for Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

"Polar bears are an iconic species that are increasingly threatened in their native habitat and we need to fight their cause."

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is more than 5,500 miles (8,890 km) away from the Parque Zoológico Benito Juárez, in cheap couch outlet link Morelia, Mexico