Two Albanian bears abandoned by their mother and moved to an English zoo because they were considered unable to survive in the wild found a novel way to survive in the not-so-wild: The pair escaped their pen and raided the larder, consuming a week’s worth of honey along with a variety of other animal snacks.
Mish and Lucy were returned safely to their custom enclosure, meant to be as much like their natural habitat as possible, although their natural habitat doesn’t include the fences and gates meant to keep them in it. They have been resident at Devon Wildwood Zoo since 2021, and a £250,000 fundraising campaign paid for the not-very-secure enclosure.
The incident was handled primarily by zoo personnel, although Devon and Cornwall police were called and later issued a press statement: “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.”
A video of the bears gobbling the honey can be seen on YouTube at youtube.com/shorts/LlW2uSztkHo.
