In a surprising turn of events, two young bears managed to escape from their enclosure at Wildwood Devon, a wildlife park in southwestern England, and indulged in a week’s supply of honey before dozing off. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon, as the four-year-old bears, named Mish and Lucy, made their way to the food storage area.
According to a statement from the park, the bears quickly devoured various snacks, including the honey, which sparked a lighthearted moment captured on video of Lucy relishing her feast and appearing quite pleased.
Despite their adventure, the bears posed no threat to visitors, who were temporarily ushered into a secure building as a safety precaution. Throughout the hour-long escapade, the animals were closely monitored using both ground surveillance and CCTV until park keepers successfully guided them back into their enclosure, where they promptly fell asleep.
The park emphasized, “Our experienced keeping team acted immediately, following established safety protocols, and successfully used recall training to encourage both bears back into their enclosure without the need for any intervention.”
Local police were called to the scene, and an investigation has begun to uncover how the bears escaped. The park attributed the incident to an “operational error” but did not provide further details.
In a statement shared on social media, the park assured the public, “This was an isolated incident, and we are conducting a full internal investigation to understand exactly how it happened and to ensure robust measures are in place to prevent a reoccurrence. While the structural integrity of the bear enclosure remains uncompromised, we take any operational lapse extremely seriously.”
Wildwood Devon spans 40 acres and is home to various wildlife species, including brown bears, wolves, and arctic foxes.