My statement that Kristiansand Dyreparken has the only Big cats in Norway proved wrong. I found out that the second biggest zoological facility in the country, Bjørneparken, welcomed two Amur Leopard brothers earlier this year. There was no better reason to use the first free day and visit the place. It is located two hours away from Oslo, easily accessible both with public transport and car and open from Thursday to Sunday. Bjørneparken is a traditional Scandinavian Wild park, where you meet the animals in their natural habitat through wooden bridges. What divides them from the Kristiansand Nordic Wilderness and Nordens Ark is the fact that the place is "fenced" in a more steep and Mountainous terrain. The Brown Bears, of course, have the central and oldest area of the Park. In three connected enclosures are living one adult male, one adult female and two young boys, who are the main attraction for the visitors. Nordic hoofed mammals are represented by small groups of Elks, Red Deers and a pair of Wild Reindeers. There is also a Walkthrough Scandinavian Red Fox enclosure and shy Northern Lynx couple. The Amur Leopards are accommodated in a newly built indoor quarters and have 24 h access to the fenced surrounding forest. One of them is still active mostly during the night. They were part of a Swedish rewilding project, but the tension between Russia and China in the Far East stopped the transition and they ended in the Bjørneparken. They are hopes for a female and future offspring. Close collaboration with Orsa Bjornpark in Sweden brought three Grey Wolf cubs in 2018. They are now living in one of the greatest Wolf habitats in captivity. Three hectare of Mountains are dedicated to them and I believe it is very hard to be spotted, if there are no presentations. There are daily feeding times for all the species, so one can not miss something. The park was created in 1997, but new owners took over in 2015. They are trying to build one major addition every year and added Crocodile house with Cuban crocodiles and American alligator and Interactive Natural History Museum, dedicated to Nordic predators. The director, Ekelii, says that they are working on new projects and non-native, cold climate species can be expected in the future.
