“It is with great sadness that the Domaine des Grottes de Han announces the death of the brown bear Marlène, dean of its Animal Park. Marlène formed with Willy, her lifelong companion, an emblematic duo that touched all visitors to the Park, ”announced the park this morning in a press release.
Marlène and Willy arrived at the Domaine in 1994. The two young bears are named following two German celebrities: actress Marlène Dietrich and Chancellor Willy Brandt.
“In recent years, Marlène has been aging a little faster than Willy. I noticed several times that he stimulated her to move, to follow him. I felt he was concerned regarding keeping her in shape. They functioned as a small couple, taking care of each other”, explained Axel, driver-guide of the Safari-car, now a pensioner.
Vision problems
For some time, Marlène suffered from vision problems. She had lost the use of one eye and the second was affected by a dislocated lens, which deteriorated her sight and might make her completely blind. The Domaine was keen to offer him a beautiful end of life. Ten days ago, she underwent surgery to improve her sight. During the operation, there was a risk that she would not recover her sight at all. The operation went well but unfortunately did not have the expected results.
The Domaine had no choice but to euthanize the animal, this Thursday, February 16.
Marlène’s skeleton will be used for educational and scientific purposes by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
