SALISBURY, MD - The Nashville Zoo tells WBOC that Pinocchio the Andean bear has ended his standard quarantine time after moving from the Salisbury Zoo and is acclimating to his new temporary home.
According to the Zoo, Pinocchio is getting used to his surroundings by spending a few hours at a time in his new exhibit. He has not yet joined Nashville Zoo’s female Andean bear Luka, but the two will be introduced at a later date as breeding partners, the Zoo says.
Pinocchio arrived in Nashville in July on a breeding loan from Salisbury as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Andean Bear Species Survival Plan. The Nashville Zoo says the Survival Plan helps to maintain genetic diversity within the Andean bear population in human care.
Pinocchio successfully fathered three cubs while at the Salisbury Zoo, and the Nashville Zoo hopes to replicate that success with Luka.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers Andean bears vulnerable to extinction due to deforestation in their natural habitat. There are an estimated 18,000 bears left in the wild, according to the Nashville Zoo.