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Monday, 25 March 2024

Whatever Next? Bears ... on a Pedalo!

From time to time we post something completely different,
and this story is a little different!

 Bears take a ride on Swan Pedalo at Woburn Safari Park


... is there room for one more!
(photograph credit Woburn Safari Park)
The group of bears, also known as a sleuth, crowded on to the watercraft

"Hold up - do you know how to drive this thing?"

These black bears wasted no time clambering on to a swan pedalo when it appeared in their enclosure at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire.

Keeper Tommy Babbington added the quirky paddle boat to keep the animals entertained after a large pool of water formed at the site during the recent wet weather.

"It was great fun for visitors to see them climb on board," he said.

The black bear is the most common bear in the forests of North America - where it is unlikely they are gifted giant plastic watercraft.

They can grow up to 1.9m (6ft 3in) long and weigh up to 300kg (47 stone).

"We love devising new ways to provide food, scent and habitat enrichment that stimulates their natural foraging behaviours," added Mr Babbington.

"There's been so much wet weather this year that a new mini lake has formed in the black bears' drive-through, so we had the idea of turning this into interesting enrichment for them.

"The sleuth of bears was immediately intrigued by their new neighbour and wasted no time in investigating the swan paddle boat."
See more pictures and words here

~ xxx ooo xxx ~

The bears certainly seem to enjoy this, I would have liked to see it in person ... from a safe distance of course!

Just a reminder to keep checking your spam folder as many bloggers are finding comments are going incorrectly into spam

All the best Jan

30 comments:

Jenn Jilks said...

That is just a hoot! I am always intrigued when I don't know a word in a title!!!

Tom said...

...that's amazing!!!

Linda said...

So cute! I wonder if they can learn to pedal. I need one of those for enrichment. And, a lake.

Mari said...

How cute is that?
Also, I never knew they were called a sleuth. :)

HappyK said...

Cute picture!!
We have black bears here on our property. They run away when they see us.

Christine said...

Cute

mxtodis123 said...

Wouldn't want to get close to them.

Susan Kane said...

What a great event that would have been to see! Black bears are huge, Grizzlies larger, and Polar bears massive.

Norma2 said...

Surely they felt protected and in the sun. In our port they usually leave the sea and appear in unusual places.

DeniseinVA said...

I absolutely adore bears, just don't want to get too close to them, unless it's a teddy bear and a big smile here. Thank you for the interesting read Jan, and all the best to you for a great week.

J.P. Alexander said...

Uy que tiernos. Te mando un beso.

My name is Erika. said...

That is too funny. We have bears in the woods around our home and we see them every now and again, but I never thought I'd see them on a swan boat. Thanks for sharing this.

Elephant's Child said...

Super, super cute. I would love to see that.

The Happy Whisk said...

So true about the spam folder. Even the comments I post on my own blog sometimes end up in spam. So weird.

Kay said...

Yup! I would definitely want to see that from a distance. And YES! I keep getting some comments going to the Spam box that shouldn't be there. I have to check it constantly.

jabblog said...

That is so delightful. It's good to know that keepers do their best to stimulate and entertain their charges.

Margaret D said...

Well now that sure is something nice to see.

eileeninmd said...

The bears are so cute, they are having fun.
Take care, have a great day!

Chatty Crone said...

That is amazing!

Breathtaking said...

Hello Jan and Eddie :=)
How cute is that! I feel sorry for the one that couldn't fit in the swan. Good idea to keep the bears entertained and make use of all the rain you get.:)

Incidentally when I came back to blogging your comment and the comments of seven other faithful followers were in SPAM. I have been checking ever since, but isn't it annoying?

All the best to you both
Sonjia

Iris Flavia said...

What a cute idea for the bears!

Fun60 said...

Good to hear that the bears are given different things to stimulate their curiosity. They look to be having fun.

DVArtist said...

That is a wonderful shot. The bears are having fun.

Jeanie said...

This would be such fun to see in person!

Conniecrafter said...

I bet that is fun to watch them interact with the boat and each other for that matter.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

What a fun photo! Bears do seem to like cooling off in water.

baili said...

what a fun it must have been to see these cute bears riding on swan :)

good authorities provide source of entertainment not for humans only but to bears too wow

baili said...

i have developed a habit of checking spam box Jan because more of comment drop in there sadly

Teresa said...

Que interesante, me ha gustado. Besos.

William Kendall said...

Very cute.