Unbear-lievable: Black bears’ unexpected pedalo adventure

With all the recent heavy rain in the UK, the Carnivore keeper team at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire came up with a fantastic addition to the new ‘lake’.

The lake, which has formed at the bottom of the North American black bears’ 13-acre enclosure, was the perfect location for the bears’ very own swan boat!

After thoroughly cleaning and checking over to ensure the boat could safely be placed in the bears’ enclosure, keepers spread some tasty honey and monkey nuts inside to entice the 11 bears to investigate.

Keepers and visitors alike were delighted when the bears climbed onto the boat to reach their food.

They could be spotted climbing all over, playing with and sniffing the boat with great curiosity.

In the wild, black bears are opportunistic feeders, foraging for food in a variety of places, using their excellent sense of smell and long tongues to seek out fruit, plants, nuts, fish, insects and more.

So, it’s no wonder then that the bears could easily smell and investigate the unfamiliar boat to find plenty of food the keepers had hidden within it.

Black bears are the most well-known and widespread bears in North America.

They usually reside in forests and are skilled at climbing trees. However, they can also be spotted in mountainous regions and swamps.

Despite being called “black” bears, they come in a variety of colours including blue-grey, blue-black, brown, cinnamon, and occasionally even white.