Farmer and conservationist Jimmy Doherty is taking on a task of uncommon scale with the premiere of Jimmy Doherty’s Big Bear Rescue, arriving Sunday, July 6 at 8 PM on Channel 4. The series opener tracks Doherty as he begins a mission to save Ewa and Miki, two polar bears displaced by the closing of their park in Sweden.
Given that these polar bears have only ever lived in captivity, a release into the wild is not an option. This fact puts Doherty and his team in the difficult position of building a new, suitable home from the ground up. Their solution is to construct what is expected to be Europe’s biggest polar bear reserve at Doherty’s own wildlife park in Suffolk. The undertaking itself is monumental, fraught with potential issues, not least the bears’ complicated journey from Sweden.
Doherty’s wildlife park already houses a wide range of rescued creatures, from meerkats to crocodiles, a natural extension of his farm’s origins as a sanctuary for rare pig breeds. This background suggests he’s no stranger to large-scale animal care, but polar bears are a different sort of challenge. The series will follow the intricacies of creating a habitat that can properly support such large, specific animals.
Jimmy Doherty’s Big Bear Rescue begins Sunday, July 6, 2025, at 8:00 PM on Channel 4.
