A male Andean bear named Pinocchio will soon join the bear exhibit at the Salisbury Zoo with community favorite, female Andean bear Chaska.

Pinocchio is scheduled to make the journey from Ecuador sometime next month

The Hertrich Family of Automobile Dealerships is sponsoring the bear and providing his transportation, has been working with the zoo for more than year now to plan for Pinocchio’s arrival.

The arrival of Pinocchio is part of a conservation effort that will hopefully bring international attention to the Salisbury Zoo and lead to bear cubs on Delmarva.

Pinocchio is a rescue bear. He was taken from the wild illegally and later rescued by the Ministry of the Environment in Ecuador. Ultimately, conservation biologists determined that, because of the young age at which he was taken from the wild, he was not likely to survive if he was released.

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The Salisbury Zoo has offered to provide a home for Pinocchio in the hopes that he will make a good companion for its female bear. Together they can provide new genetic material to the captive bear population.

Because of Hertrich's sponsorship, the Salisbury Zoo was able to meet the substantial cost of transporting an Andean bear, and Pinocchio will soon be on his way to his forever home.

“As a partner in the community we see great value in the Salisbury Zoo and the impact it has on the education of young people,” said Regional Vice President Matt Kugle in a news release. “We felt sponsoring Pinocchio the Andean Bear would be a great way of demonstrating that to the residents of Delmarva and also support the Salisbury Zoo.”

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Mayor Jake Day said, “Thanks to this new partnership with our friends at Hertrich, the Salisbury Zoo will soon be home to another beautiful Andean bear. Since 1974, when longtime Zoo resident ‘Poopsie’ was sent to us from the Baltimore Zoo, our City has demonstrated loyalty and love for our Spectacled friends, and I’m excited to see that tradition continuing with ‘Pinocchio.’ We thank Hertrich for their sponsorship, and we’re happy to say ‘Welcome home, ‘Pinocchio!’

"Ever since the arrival of our first Andean bear in 1974, Salisbury has proven to have a big heart for these majestic animals, and we’re happy to see the tradition continuing with Pinocchio.”

The process of transferring the bear from Ecuador to the United States is very complex, requiring several international permits, according to a news release. The zoo needed to determine Pinocchio was an animal that would benefit the management of the captive population of Andean bears. Ecuador needed to be assured that Salisbury would be capable of providing appropriate care and support for their native animal. And all parties wanted to take steps that were beneficial to the sustainability of the world’s population of Andean bears.

The crate was shipped last week to Ecuador, where trainers at the facility there will begin to work with Pinocchio to get him comfortable with transferring to the crate. This process will take about two-three weeks, the news release states.

Once the bear is crate-trained, two zookeepers from the Salisbury Zoo will travel to Ecuador, where they will meet Pinocchio and learn about Ecuador’s Andean Bear Conservation Program, which has led to Pinocchio coming to Delmarva.

Once Pinocchio is at the Salisbury Zoo, he will undergo a quarantine under the watchful eye of the zoo veterinarians that will last about 30 days, according to the news release. From there, he will move to his new home and get settled in before finally being introduced to his new friend Chaska.

Pinocchio is expected to be on view for the public by about the end of the year.