Two young bears escape from enclosure in Devon... and devour a week's worth of honey
Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at a wildlife park in Devon - and devoured a week's worth of honey.
In a tale straight out of Winnie The Pooh, Mish and Lucy immediately dashed for the food store during their hour of freedom at the Wildwood Trust site.
Visitors were "promptly escorted to a secure building" - but a spokesperson confirmed the peckish pair were not a danger to the public at any point.
"The bears were continuously monitored both on the ground and via CCTV until they calmly returned to their enclosure and fell asleep," the statement added.
Police attended the scene "in line with standard protocol" - and an investigation has been launched into how the four-year-olds managed to escape in the first place.
"The exhibit is secure, and we are grateful to our staff and visitors for their cooperation, which helped us resolve the situation swiftly and safely," the Wildwood Trust said.
Mish and Lucy were abandoned by their mother in a snowdrift in the Albanian mountains.
While several efforts were made to reintroduce them to the wild, conservationists soon concluded they could not survive on their own.
A fundraising campaign meant the siblings could be transported to Wildwood's Kent park in 2020 - and after six months, they settled into their "forever home" in Devon.
Mish is a playful bear who enjoys splashing around in pools and swinging in hammocks, while Lucy "loves nothing more" than spending time with her brother and climbing trees.
They feast on kilos of berries, fruits, vegetables, seeds, fish and meat every day.
And honey… apparently.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Norwich swimming group calls for river pollution checks
A swimming group has called for a stretch of river to be officially recognised by the government so that regular water quality checks can take of the Cow Tower Dippers in Norwich have swum in the River Wensum on a weekly basis for the last three said they were applying to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for it to be given "designated bathing water status", which would mean the quality would be monitored."People ask 'is it cold and is it clean?' We can answer the first, but we can't answer the second," said Pete Smith from the group. According to Defra's criteria, designated bathing sites should be used by an average of at least 100 people every day between May and September, with toilet facilities earlier this year, the government announced a review of its criteria and said it was "developing plans to expand the definition of 'bathers' to include participants in water sports other than swimming, such as paddle boarders and surfers". The Environment Agency assesses the quality of water at designated ratings are issued – ranging from poor to excellent – with "daily pollution risks" given for some Smith said the Cow Tower Dippers formed on 1 January 2022 with just three members, but since then the group had grown, with dozens sometimes taking part in their Saturday morning swims."It's a community of people coming together loving the river," he swimming has grown in popularity in recent years, but no rivers in Norfolk are designated bathing water sites."We've got all these rivers and the broads, why aren't people recognising swimmers?" asked Mr Smith. The Dippers' plan will be discussed by Norwich city councillors tonight, with a motion put forward by Green councillor Gary Champion calling for the authority to back their application."We need to be able to know what the pollution levels are in a river, to address them in a systematic and intelligent way." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Newmarket bedpan collector's items at Peterborough exhibition
A bedpan collector said it was "lovely" to see two of her rarest finds included in a private exhibition in a Jacobs, 77, from Newmarket, Suffolk began collecting bedpans in 1984 eventually ending up with decided last year to sell them and sold two made by Shelley - a renowned Staffordshire pottery - to Julie Stevenson, 54, from Peterborough who collects this Stevenson held a private exhibition of her Shelley collection at Peterborough Cathedral on Sunday where she invited Mrs Jacobs to come and see her former bedpans. "It was a private viewing - they are all private collections so you can't go and visit them," Mrs Jacobs explained."It was lovely to see two of them again... it's unusual that the bedpans are plain white with writing on them."Most of the Shelley collections that Julie had were all coloured and different designs."Shelley closed in 1966 and it is believed the two bedpans were made for the NHS in 1948, the year it was founded. Mrs Stevenson, who is also a Peterborough councillor, explained her exhibition was for the official collectors group, The UK Shelley China of the group were in attendance from across the region as well as the Mayor of Peterborough and several councillors."I came upon the idea of hiring a space at the cathedral to highlight a selection of pieces from my private collection after realising I have a few bits that specifically tie in with the venue," Mrs Stevenson said. Within her collection of about 800 items, Mrs Stevenson has a jug from 1911 with an illustration of Katherine of Aragon who is buried at the cathedral as well as a 1920s ginger jar decorated with pomegranates that were Katherine of Aragon's symbol. "The cathedral team went above and beyond to ensure we had a lovely afternoon. I cannot thank them enough," Mrs Stevenson said. "It was wonderful to see Mary again and to show her how her slipper pans fit in with my collection, and for her to meet other pottery enthusiasts."Mrs Jacobs sold the majority of the rest of her bedpans to a collector in the United States. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Jersey summer beach safety scheme launched by 999 crews
Emergency services in Jersey are urging beachgoers to take several steps to keep themselves and others safe this island's ambulance, coastguard, fire, police and RNLI crews have launched the 2025 Building a Safer Community Beach initiative to highlight what people could do to enjoy visiting the coast issued through the campaign included not leaving barbecues unattended, swim at lifeguarded beaches, collect rubbish and wear David Bowler from Jersey Police said the scheme's first year in 2024 proved to be a success and the emergency services wanted to build on it. He added: "We're coming together to make sure every organisation can club together to try and make the beaches a safer place for islanders and tourists alike." Crews involved in the scheme said working together as a team could help spread the safety message to a wider Coote, a fire service crew commander, said: "Doing small things like soaking a disposable barbecue with water to make sure it's cooled down and covering the sand underneath it with some fresh sand is always a good thing to do."The last thing that we'd want is a child or a pet like a dog walking over that and burning their feet."
