SALISBURY, MD - The Salisbury Zoo has announced one of their Andean bears, Inti, will be moving to a new home this month.
According to the Zoo, Inti will be going to the Racine Zoo in Wisconsin as part of the Andean Bear Species Survival Plan.
Inti is currently off exhibit to prepare for his move to the Racine Zoo before Zoo Registrar Jessica Mandelson and care supervisor Andrienne Liszkiewicz drive him there next week.
The Salisbury Zoo’s female bear Chaska gave birth to Inti and Raymi in 2022 and began showing indications it was time to separate her from her cubs last year. The Zoo says mother Andean bears naturally separate from their cubs in the wild. Andean bears are solitary by nature, according to the Zoo, and Inti and sibling Raymi would likewise not have remained together in the wild.
“It is always hard to see one of your favorite animals leave, but for Inti, it is an exciting new beginning,” Mandelson said. “I always knew this day would come. It is a mark of the Salisbury Zoo's success with breeding Andean bears and contributing to the conservation of this truly unique bear species.”
The Salisbury Zoo says there are also plans for Raymi to leave the Salisbury Zoo in September. The Zoo’s patriarch Andean Bear Pinocchio was sent to the Nashville Zoo in July of 2023 as part of an effort to increase the Andean Bear population.