The history of the arosa bear sanctuary
From the idea in 2010 to now
July 2010
Tourism Director Pascal Jenny begins looking for new and appealing projects more than eight years ago and comes upon the bears idea.
Autumn 2010
Arosa receives a sizeable sum as a legacy, which is earmarked for the Arosa Bear Sanctuary project.
July 2011
The civic authority of Arosa opposes the provision of the “Bärabad” site for the creation of a bear park. The project group examines alternative locations.
November 2012
The animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS contacts the Arosa Tourist Office and expresses an interest in collaborating on the Arosa Bear Park project.
2013 / 2014
Various locations and concepts are investigated, and the “perfect” location is evaluated.
June 2015
The civic authority of Chur approves the use of the perimeter next to the intermediate station of the Weisshorn cableway for the Arosa Bear Sanctuary.
November 2016
The Arosa Bear Sanctuary receives a resounding yes from the population of Arosa. With 78% in favour and a very high turnout, the anticipation following a flawless information and voting campaign is palpable everywhere.
December 2016
Work in the background continues. The “Arosa Bears” Foundation is established and the planning application (enclosure, shelter and visitor installations) is drawn up.
April 2017
Further experience elements (bear playground, edutainment, bear events, etc.) are developed for the Arosa Bear Sanctuary. This is done with the aim of positioning Arosa as a “bear village”.
May 2017
The government of the canton of Grisons approves the partial revision of the local plan for the “Arosa Bear Sanctuary”.
July 2017
The lease to use and run the Arosa Bear Sanctuary is signed between the Arosa Bears Foundation and the civic authority and municipality of Chur.
August 2017
The building permit is issued as planned by the municipality of Arosa. The groundbreaking ceremony takes place for the construction of the Arosa Bear Sanctuary.
December 2017
Building work is suspended for the winter break. It is resumed in spring 2018.
July 2018
Napa, a former circus bear, is transferred from Palic in Serbia to Arosa.
July 2018
Napa is released into the large outdoor enclosure after a settling-in period.
August 2018
The Arosa Bear Sanctuary is officially opened from 3 to 5 August after more than eight years in the making.
November 2018
Napa has begun his hibernation.
January 2019
The outdoor enclosure has to be closed because of all the snow.
February 2019
Amelia and Meimo, the two restaurant bears from Albania, move into their new home in Arosa.
July 2019
Amelia and Meimo could be socialized with Napa and from now on all three bears can use the whole enclosure together.
August 2019
Another visit to the Arosa Bear Sanctuary by the vet. Amelia was successfully castrated and Napa was spontaneously operated on the teeth. Everything went well.
End of November/ December
The bears begin their second hibernation. This year all bears are resting in individual hibernation boxes.
13 April 2020
Napa was the first to end its hibernation this year.
4 May 2020
Meimo has officially ended its hibernation. Amelia had been in the outdoor enclosure since the beginning of March, which is why the criteria could not be fully evaluated and therefore no exact end date of the hibernation could be given.
13 June 2020
After the pre-opening weekend on 6/7 June 2020 we officially started our third summer season.
2 July 2020
Almost two years after the opening in August 2020, we welcomed the 100,000th visitor to the Arosa Bear Sanctuary.
9 July 2020
The Arosa Bear Academy in cooperation with the Arosa Bear Sanctuary started summer 2020 with outdoor courses especially for children and teenagers.
17 July 2020
Opening of the "floating" Adventure Path with eight viewing platforms connected by suspension bridges.
4 November 2020
Napa was diagnosed with epilepsy in June 2020. After Napa's state of health continued to deteriorate, the medication no longer had the expected effect and the quality of life of Napa was no longer satisfactory, Napa was released from its severe suffering.
11 December 2020
At the beginning of December, brown bear Jambolina was freed from her old life as a circus bear in Ukraine. After a long journey, she arrived safely at the Arosa Bear Sanctuary and was allowed to start a new life.
January 2021
All three bears are naturally hibernating. Meimo and Amelia have prepared a den in the outdoor enclosure. Jambolina is resting in her hutch in the indoor enclosure.
29 May 2021
Bear Jambolina explores nature in the Arosa Bear Sanctuary for the first time. With this, she masters another milestone on the way to a life that corresponds to the natural needs of bears.
13 July 2021
After Jambolina's successful socialisation with Meimo and Amelia, the three bears will share the spacious outdoor enclosure together for the first time from 13 July 2021.
5 August 2021
We have to say goodbye to bear Jambolina today. Shortly before an operation in the Arosa Bear Sanctuary, the bear passed away. We are grateful for the happy months Jambolina was able to spend in Arosa and very sad that she was not granted more time.
19 November 2021
After enjoying the fresh snow, bears Amelia and Meimo move indoors in late autumn and begin hibernation.
10 February 2022
The bears Amelia and Meimo will soon have two new fellow residents. FOUR PAWS is planning the transfer of two bears from Skopje Zoo to Arosa.
8 April 2022
Instinctive bear behaviour! To the delight of all visitors, Amelia and Meimo trudged across the snow-covered outdoor enclosure for the first time after their winter hibernation.
20 May 2022
After a long journey, bears Sam and Jamila have arrived safely at Arosa Bear Sanctuary. They are leaving life at Skopje Zoo all behind them.