A wild bear wandered into Eureka\u2019s Sequoia Park Zoo and \u201cinteracted\u201d with the three zoo bears across the fence before it was persuaded to leave through a service gate, zoo officials said.<\/p>\n
The unusual visit happened Friday morning. Employees were conducting the daily inspection of the zoo\u2019s Redwood Sky Walk when one of them noticed the black bear on the boardwalk.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur three bears are very distinctive in appearance, and I recognized right away that it was not one of ours,\u201d Christine Noel was quoted as saying in the zoo\u2019s press release.<\/p>\n
The wild bear \u201cdid not appear aggressive\u201d and didn\u2019t enter any animal habitats, officials said. It did appear interested in the zoo bears, Tule, Ish\u016dng and Nabu, and also made a \u201cbrief exploration of the enrichment items around the night house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zoo employees and a warden from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ushered the bear out, back into the forested area of Sequoia Park.<\/p>\n
The press release said it\u2019s not known how the bear got into the zoo, which is enclosed by a fence. Bears are among the animals that live in the 60-acre park within Eureka\u2019s city limits.<\/p>\n
The zoo\u2019s resident bears are considered \u201cnon-releasable\u201d by Fish and Wildlife \u2014 it\u2019s thought they would find it very difficult to survive in the wild. Tule, who is about 3\u00bd years old, and Nabu, about a year old, were found as ailing cubs in the wild and were cared for by wildlife rehabilitation groups before coming to the zoo. Ish\u016dng, also 3\u00bd, arrived at the zoo in March from an animal sanctuary where she had grown to an alarming 500 pounds.<\/p>\n