By: LUCAS ADAMS
Staff Writer
An escape artist bear from Missouri is headed to a Texas zoo in a moat in hopes to end his wandering. The St . Louis zoo cited the “specific and unique personality” of the Andean bear named Ben. His soon-to-be home is the Gladys Porter Zoo near South Padre Island in Brownsville, Texas, has worked with Andean bears before but they still are adding extra security measures.
“We’re confident it’s going to be good for Ben,” said Walter Dupree, Texas’s zoo curator of mammals.
Ben gained his notoriety in February by busting out of his habitat two times. The first time was when he tore apart clips that attached stainless steel mesh to a frame of a door. He was recaptured and put back in his enclosure before the opening of that day. Zoo workers added zip ties to the attachments to make them stronger but Ben escaped two weeks later.
Ben now is in a nonpublic area of the St. Louis zoo where he can move indoors and outdoors and has a pool.
