Three brown bears and their young cubs have re-located to a Kent animal park.

The family of six were rescued from a zoo in Andorra and moved into a new habitat at Port Lympne, near Hythe, this week.

The decision to transfer them followed the announcement that Naturlandia, Andorra’s only zoo, which was part of an amusement park, would be closing.

The team at Port Lympne worked in partnership with Bears In Mind, an organisation which works to provide better living conditions for captive bears, to make the 800 mile transfer possible.

The family is made up of Julio, who is 15 years old, mum Enciam, who is 19, eldest daughter Neu, who is five years old, and the three cubs, who one year old and so far haven't got names.

They are all now living in a custom built enclosure, which was made possible following donations from Port Lympne's supporters.

Specially designed by the park’s expert team, the spacious, three-acre woodland enclosure includes water features, den areas and plenty of vegetation, allowing the bears to live the most natural life possible.

The team are enjoying the process of learning each bear’s unique personality traits as the family familiarise themselves with their new surroundings.

They are very curious animals, inspecting and scent-marking their new space, and are always keen on feeding time, with the adults eating up to 40kg a day.

Animal director Simon Jeffery said: "The team have worked tirelessly to prepare for this arrival and are delighted to welcome the new bears to the reserve.

"They are being given a new life in a naturalistic habitat which offers them a huge amount of space and environmental enrichment.

"We anticipate that they’ll settle in very quickly."

Port Lympne’s managing director Tony Kelly added: "The incredible support and generosity of the general public, as well as the hard work of the park team, has allowed us to give these bears the best future possible.

"We’re hugely grateful to all those who donated to our campaign."

Visitors can now see the bears for themselves in their brand new habitat.

They can also support further by adopting one of the bears.

Two new lions also moved to Port Lympne earlier this year.

Zulu and Wilma came from the Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, who had struggled to find a new home for the pair until Port Lympne stepped up.

Read more: All the latest news from Hythe

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