You’ll only spot polar bears in a handful of UK zoos, so knowing where they live makes planning a visit a lot easier. Right now, the UK has 12 polar bears, split between Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Highland Wildlife Park. That’s your starting point if you’re hoping to see them or just want to know how the UK looks after this species.
As you read on, you’ll find out exactly which parks have polar bears, learn a bit about some individual bears, and see how things have changed over time. I’ll point out the main facilities, some history, and a few moments that shaped polar bear keeping in the UK.
Which Zoos in the UK Have Polar Bears?
You can only see polar bears at a few parks in the UK. These places manage them as part of conservation and breeding programs, and each one puts its own spin on care, space, and how they teach the public.
Highland Wildlife Park Polar Bears
Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland keeps polar bears in a cold-climate setting run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. The park looks after four polar bears and runs breeding and welfare programs under EAZA guidelines.
Keepers give regular talks, and the enclosure has big outdoor areas with tundra-like terrain and pools for swimming. If you’re visiting, you’ll get a viewpoint with long sightlines and raised walkways.
The park pushes conservation messages about wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and the threats they face in the Arctic. Getting there is pretty easy, and honestly, winter is the best time to see the bears being active.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Project Polar
Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England runs Project Polar and keeps eight polar bears—the biggest group in the UK. Project Polar features specialist habitats, big pools, and enrichment that encourages natural behaviours.
Staff here work with other zoos on genetics and welfare, following EAZA standards. You’ll find big viewing areas and regular keeper talks about the bears’ biology and the park’s conservation role.
They often connect what happens in captivity to what’s happening in the wild, and they share data with other zoos to help manage the population.
Peak Wildlife Park Polar Bear Habitat
Peak Wildlife Park keeps polar bears in a smaller, focused habitat that lets keepers get up close and focus on education. The park joins in with cooperative programs for animal welfare and sometimes works with EAZA or other European partners on breeding and transfers.
The habitat uses natural substrates and offers views where you can watch the bears swim or feed. During your visit, you’ll see signs with info and sometimes catch a keeper talk.
Peak’s main thing is animal welfare and public learning, so you’ll get clear explanations about how captive bears differ from wild ones and why it matters.
Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park Polar Bear Reserve
Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park runs a polar bear reserve that tries to combine public viewing with solid care standards. The reserve focuses on enrichment, pools, and enough space for polar bears, while following the best husbandry practices.
Staff give talks and share info about climate impacts on Arctic ecosystems and Ursus maritimus. When you visit, you might catch a feeding or a keeper session that explains daily routines and conservation links.
The park sometimes joins UK-wide efforts to manage polar bears, balancing animal welfare and visitor access.
History of Polar Bears in UK Zoos
Polar bears first arrived in British collections in the 19th century, and people kept them in all sorts of enclosures—some classic, some more modern. You’ll find old records of long displays, high-profile births, and changing standards as animal welfare and EAZA guidelines evolved.
Former Polar Bear Enclosures and Notable Zoos
London Zoo once kept polar bears on the Mappin Terraces, a cliff-faced Victorian exhibit that really shaped how the public saw these animals. That exhibit closed ages ago as zoos moved to more natural designs.
You can still check out old museum records and photos showing bears on stone ledges and tiny pools. Now, Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Highland Wildlife Park keep most of the UK’s polar bears.
London Zoo hasn’t had polar bears in recent years, at least not since 2022. Zoos have moved away from bare concrete pits and toward larger paddocks, chilled dens, and varied terrain to meet modern welfare rules.
Famous UK Polar Bears
Maybe you’ve heard of Brumas, the first polar bear cub raised successfully in Britain, born in 1950 at London Zoo. Brumas made headlines and marked an early success for breeding polar bears in captivity.
Other bears got attention when they moved between parks or when new Arctic-themed exhibits opened. More recently, the most well-known bears live at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Highland Wildlife Park, where keepers focus on enrichment, cold pools, and social groups.
Sometimes people talk about the “last bear in the UK,” but that’s not really true—there are still several bears living in specialist parks, just not in the old city zoos.
Polar Bear Breeding and Conservation Programs
UK zoos actually work under EAZA guidelines for caring for and breeding polar bears (Ursus maritimus). They focus more on genetic management, welfare, and public education than on increasing the number of captive bears.
European institutions coordinate breeding to prevent inbreeding and keep animal welfare at the forefront. You’ll notice that zoos emphasize field research funding and climate-change messaging now more than ever.
When you visit these parks, you help support scientific partnerships that look into polar bear health, genetics, and behavior. Zoos also stick to EAZA standards for enclosure size, social groupings, and enrichment, making sure the bears get what they need.
