Latest news with #EscotPark
Times
7 hours ago
- General
- Times
Bears scoff week's worth of honey after escape from wildlife park
Two bears at a wildlife park had a Winnie-the-Pooh moment when they escaped their enclosure and scoffed a week's worth of honey. The wanderings of Mish and Lucy, both five-year-old orphaned European brown bears, on Monday afternoon prompted Wildwood Devon visitors to be evacuated from the park and moved to a secure building. The two bears were returned to their 1.5-acre enclosure 'within the hour' with the help of trained firearms staff and specialist police officers. The pair were rescued as cubs in 2019 after being abandoned by their mother WILDWOOD TRUST/PA Wildwood Devon insisted the pair posed 'no threat to the public at any point' and that their exhibit was 'secure'. An investigation is under way to determine how the bears managed to escape. The bears, siblings who were rescued in 2019 from a snowdrift in the Albanian mountains after being abandoned by their mother, left their enclosure at the park in Escot Park, near Ottery St Mary, and headed straight for their food store.
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Telegraph
Escaped rescue bears eat week's worth of honey while on the run
Two rescue bears who escaped from a British wildlife park helped themselves to a week's worth of honey while on the run. Police were called after two resident bears got out of their enclosure at Wildwood Devon, at Escot Park near Ottery St Mary. Mish and Lucy, who were found after being abandoned by their mother in Albania three years earlier, were moved to the site in 2022 and would have been unable to survive in the wild. But they fled their enclosure, provoking a major police hunt, and tucked into a large haul of honey at the park's shop. Visitors were taken to a place of safety as specialists officers attended the scene. The bears were returned safely to their home a short while later. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'We were made aware of two resident bears having escaped from their home at Escot Park on the afternoon of Monday June 23. 'Specialist officers attended, and visitors were taken to places of safety. The bears were safely returned to their area and secured.' The incident lasted around an hour and the bears, both five years old, were closely monitored during the process. A spokesman for Wildwood Devon said: 'Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at Wildwood Devon this afternoon, heading straight for their food store. 'Mish and Lucy, 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. 'In line with standard protocol, police attended the scene, and an investigation is now under way to determine how the incident occurred. 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. Wildwood Devon will be open as usual from tomorrow.' Wildwood said at the time it rescued the bears it wanted to give them an enclosure which had been left 'as natural as possible with the aim of creating a lifelong habitat'. The bears, rescued in 2019, were briefly kept in Belgium, unable to return back to the wild for their own safety, before being brought to Escot in June 2021 when a £250,000 appeal to build the enclosure was launched.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Police called as bears escape from Devon wildlife park enclosure - and eat a week's worth of honey
Two young bears yesterday escaped their wildlife park enclosure and ate a week's worth of honey while on the loose. Police were called to Wildwood Devon at Escot Park near Ottery St Mary after receiving reports that Mish and Lucy, both five years old, had broken out. Visitors to the 500-acre zoo were 'promptly escorted to a secure building' and were locked in a room for around an hour as officers descended on the scene. Wildwood said Mish and Lucy headed 'straight for their food store' and 'posed no threat to the public at any point'. The pair were monitored on CCTV before they 'calmly returned to their enclosure and fell asleep'. An internal investigation by the park is now underway to determine how Mish and Lucy, who were moved to the site in 2022, escaped. Wildwood Devon is open to the public again today. A spokesperson for Wildwood Devon said: 'Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at Wildwood Devon [yesterday] afternoon, heading straight for their food store. Wildwood said Mish and Lucy (both above) headed 'straight for their food store' and 'posed no threat to the public at any point' as they did not leave the wider confines of the park 'Mish and Lucy, both five 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. 'In line with standard protocol, police attended the scene, and an investigation is now underway to determine how the incident occurred. '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.' A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson added: 'We were made aware of two resident bears having escaped from their home at Escot Park on the afternoon of Monday 23 June. 'Specialist officers attended and visitors taken to places of safety. 'The bears were safely returned to their area and secured.' Mish and Lucy were abandoned by their mother in Albania and were said to have been 'unable to survive in the wild.' Wildwood said it wanted to give them an enclosure which had been left 'as natural as possible with the aim of creating a lifelong habitat'. The bears, who were rescued in 2019, were kept briefly in Belgium before being brought to Escot when a £250,000 appeal was launched to build the enclosure. Wildwood Devon's general manager said previously: 'They're the first bears we've ever had at Escot and have become firm favourites with our visitors.'
