Recently, the escape of a black bear from Foshan Wildlife Park in Handan, Hebei Province has sparked widespread attention on the internet. Many netizens have criticized the park for poor visitor experiences compared to before. A zoo employee revealed that the park has not paid salaries for two months, leading many to consider resigning.
On April 2nd, after the black bear escape incident, a search in the nearby forest located the escaped black bear 1.3 kilometers away from the zoo.
A recent report by Jiemu News highlighted that the incident of the black bear escape is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind this event lies issues such as management and financial problems at the zoo, with employees going unpaid for two months. Additionally, visitors have complained about a sharp decrease in the number of animals and deteriorating conditions in the park.
In recent years, many privately-owned zoos in the country have faced significant pressure in operation. They are trying various ways to increase exposure and attract more visitors.
Most of Foshan Wildlife Park is surrounded by a wall over 2 meters high. Inside the zoo, there are tall wire fences with electric grids on top, although some of the wire fences show signs of rust.
In the zoo’s area for wild animals, the black bear enclosure is named “Black Bear Ridge”. Adjacent to the zoo’s west gate, “Black Bear Ridge” consists of a fixed bear house and a large outdoor activity area. One side of “Black Bear Ridge” is a natural barrier, a small hill, while the other side is a tens of meters long wall without electric grids, separating “Black Bear Ridge” from the outside. The middle of the wall is made of transparent glass for visitors to observe the black bears.
An informant revealed that the escaped bear lived in the first bear house near the west gate. Due to the only monitoring device in “Black Bear Ridge” being damaged, zoo staff speculated that the bear climbed out through the ventilation opening of the bear house, then went up to the intersection of the hill and the wall to escape from “Black Bear Ridge”.
The west gate of the zoo has a movable electric gate, but employees have been manually operating it to allow vehicles to enter as the electric function seems to be malfunctioning.
Following the “bear escape” incident, the zoo has been closed down.
The operating situation at Foshan Wildlife Park is far from ideal. On the park’s social media platforms, many netizens express dissatisfaction with the visitor experience compared to before.
“There are no shows at the Marine Museum, the 5th and 6th floors are closed, and even the amusement facilities are not operational. It feels like this zoo is on the verge of closure.”
“Not fun at all, the animals are as skinny as skeletons, very pitiful. There are far fewer animals than before, with hardly any in the aviary, and the environment is very poor.”
“The facilities are not as good as before, and maintenance seems lacking.”
A zoo employee informed Jiemu News that as animal keepers at the zoo, they were paid 3000 RMB per month, but salaries have been unpaid for two months, leading many to consider resigning.
After the incident, the zoo management sealed off the ventilation opening of the bear house and installed eight additional surveillance cameras on April 4th, while also planning to add electric grids on the walls.
According to the official introduction of Foshan Wildlife Park, the total investment in the park is 500 million RMB, covering an area of over 1000 mu, and officially opened on December 30, 2018. The park has housed and exhibited over 200 species of rare and precious wildlife, including red-crowned cranes, African lions, giraffes, Northeast tigers, and various other rare animals.
Public information shows that the operating entity of Foshan Wildlife Park is Handan Foshan Wildlife Park Management Service Co., Ltd. According to Tianyancha information, the company was established on October 31, 2018, with a registered capital of 20 million RMB. Relevant data indicates that the company has been involved in over ten legal disputes, including contract disputes, financial loan contract disputes, labor disputes, with half of the contract disputes occurring in 2025. There are reports of issues in the company’s financial chain.