The first inhabitant of bear country in Arosa has arrived

(nda) The first of the five bears arrived in the seaside resort of Grisons in Arosa. "Napa", the last Serbian circus bear, is allowed to spend the rest of his life in the new Arosa Bear Land.

The bear was born in a zoo and presumably came to the already young Serbian circus, informed the foundation "Four Paws" Wednesday with. We did not know if he had played in the ring, they said. Due to the ban of wildlife in circuses in Serbia since 2009, it was probably kept for years in a small cage.

Napa bear Wednesday in its new enclosure in Arosa. For visitors, the land of the bears opens on August 3rd. (Image: Gian Ehrenzeller / Epa)

Arrived in Arosa, the bear is Wednesday after a race of over 1400 kilometers. Now he is supposed to spend some time in a familiarization area, before he can move on to Bärenland, a large compound of four football fields on the edge of the ski area. In total, five bears from unworthy circumstances in southeastern Europe will receive a new home.

The land of bears, unique in Switzerland, was launched by Pascal Jenny, director of the Aroser spa, in collaboration with the Four Paws association. It costs 6.5 million francs. The Canton of Graubünden supported the project with CHF 1.2 million and classifies it as a "system-related" infrastructure linked to tourism.

The enclosure is officially inaugurated in early August in the presence of Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard. The first weekend of August, the doors of the "first bear conservation center" of Switzerland will also be open to visitors.