Bears escape enclosure at UK wildlife park - and eat week's worth of honey
Two young bears at a wildlife park made a beeline for a week's supply of honey after staging an escape from their enclosure.
Mish and Lucy, both four-year-old siblings, seized their moment of freedom at the Wildwood Trust's site in Ottery St Mary in Devon on Monday afternoon.
The pair reportedly headed straight for their food store during their hour-long adventure.
Despite their brief escapade, Wildwood Devon confirmed that the bears posed no danger to the public at any point.
A spokesperson for Wildwood Trust shared: 'Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at Wildwood Devon this afternoon, heading straight for their food store.
'Mish and Lucy, both four years, who posed no threat to the public at any point, enjoyed a selection of snacks – including a week's worth of honey – before being safely returned to their enclosure by the expert keeper team within the hour.
'As a precaution, all visitors on site were promptly escorted to a secure building.
'The bears were continuously monitored both on the ground and via CCTV until they calmly returned to their enclosure and fell asleep.'
The charity said police attended the scene 'in line with standard protocol' and an investigation is underway to find out how the bears escaped.
'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 spokesperson added.
Mish and Lucy were discovered abandoned by their mother in a snowdrift in the Albanian mountains, according to the Wildwood Trust.
Several attempts were made to reintroduce the cubs into the wild but it became clear to conservationists that they could not survive on their own.
Following a fundraising campaign in 2020, the siblings were transported to Wildwood's Kent park for six months before they made their 'forever home' at the Devon site in 2021.
Mish is known to be a playful bear who enjoys splashing around in the pool and swinging in hammocks while Lucy is said to 'love nothing more' than spending time with her brother and climbing trees.
The pair eat kilos of berries, fruits, vegetables, seeds, fish and meat every day.
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