The Peña Escrita (unofficial) zoo has been shedding animals for years and now it’s time for the five bears to go.

The yogis are destined to travel to Hungary where they will find a home in a bear sanctuary called Veresegyhzi Menve Otthon.

A representative from the said sanctuary visited the Peña Escrita mountain park and then met up with the Mayor, Trinidad Herrera, and the Councillor for the Environment, Luis Aragón to negotiate and close the deal.

The bear sanctuary is going to handle the travel docs through the Spanish agency, The Servicio Oficial de Inspección, Vigilancia y Regulación del Comercio Exterior (SOIVRE) as well as run with half the transport costs. The Town Hall will pay the other half, amounting to 3,600 euros.

The actual transfer will be carried out in September, after the heat of midsummer.

The fact is that the Junta de Andalucía is not going to let the Town Hall reopen the park until all the dangerous animals are removed. With the bears gone, the only animals that have to go are the macaque monkeys (smaller cousins of the Gibraltar hairy gangsters).

In the meantime, although the park is not open to the public, work is going on, maintaining the log cabins, looking after the natural fauna and keeping the triffids in check.

As far as running costs go, feeding the animals will be easier since they will no longer have to round up prisoners of war to feed to the bears… just joking! Costing a constant supply of red meat is not the same as providing fruit, vegetables and dry feed.

The Town Hall is also looking for private companies to run the restaurant and log cabins. So far three companies have expressed interest in using the installations, as a youth hostel/summer camp, amongst other ideas.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)