Oct. 20 (UPI) — A wild bear wandered into a California zoo and “interacted” with the facility’s resident bruins before leaving peacefully through a service gate.
The Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka said on social media that employees were conducting a daily inspection when they spotted the wild bear on the Redwood Sky Walk.
“The wild bear did not appear aggressive and was observed interacting with Tule, Ishŭng, and Kunabulilh through their habitat fencing,” the post said.
Tule, Ishŭng, and Kunabulilh are the zoo’s resident black bears. Tule and Kunabulilh, aka Nabu, were rescued by wildlife rehabilitation groups when they were cubs, and Ishŭng came to the zoo from an animal sanctuary. The three became permanent zoo residents after experts determined they would be unlikely to thrive in the wild.
Eureka Police Department personnel and a warden from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the zoo to assist with the situation.
“At no point did the wild bear enter any animal habitats and, after a brief exploration of the enrichment items around the night house, the bear was safely coaxed back into the woods through a service gate,” the zoo said.
The post praised the bear for being “a very polite visitor.”
“He stayed on the boardwalk path, kept two feet on the ground and didn’t try to climb over the railings,” officials wrote.