Britain's only captive polar bear is to be moved from Edinburgh Zoo to a four-acre enclosure in the Highlands, the largest of its kind in Europe.

The £300,000 enclosure — the size of four football pitches — will recreate the tundra environment of the bear’s Canadian home and will include a large natural pool. It is hoped it will provide a better quality of life for the mammal, which has been in captivity for 25 years.

There will also be a public viewing platform on a hill overlooking the bear’s new home.

Last week, officials from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which owns Edinburgh Zoo, said around £75,000 was needed to complete the enclosure at Highland Wildlife Park, near Kingussie in Inverness-shire.

They hope to raise the money through public appeals and fundraising campaigns so that Mercedes can be moved later this year.

Mercedes, named after the car company which assisted with the costs of her transport, has been in Edinburgh since 1984.

She was rescued from her native Canada after she was scheduled to be shot for roaming into a nearby town in search of food.

However, there has been sustained criticism of Edinburgh Zoo during Mercedes’ time in captivity.

Animal rights campaigners believe the polar bear’s stone-built pen, around 40m in diameter with rocks, logs and a small moat, is too small, causing her anxiety and depression, which she exhibits by pacing her cage and wearing her fur and skin down by constant rubbing.

When Mercedes arrived at Edinburgh Zoo she was paired with a male polar bear called Barney. They produced two cubs, To-Nuik and Ohoto.

Barney died 13 years ago. Mercedes has been on her own since then.

“It has been our intention to move Mercedes for a couple of years now,” said Iain Valentine, director of animals, conservation and education for RZSS.