Black Bears Enjoy Playing on Swan-Shaped Pedal Boat

A sleuth of North American black bears at a safari park in the United Kingdom enjoyed an unusual addition to their enclosure: a swan-shaped pedal boat.

Footage released by Woburn Safari Park shows the pedal boat floating on a small lake that keepers said had formed in the enclosure following wet weather.

“There’s been so much wet weather this year, that a new mini lake has formed in the black bears drive-through at Woburn Safari Park, so we had the idea of turning this into interesting enrichment for them,” Tommy Babington, Deputy Head of Section, Carnivores, said.

“The sleuth of bears was immediately intrigued by their new neighbour and wasted no time in investigating the swan peddle boat.”

Keepers said the youngest of the park’s 11 North American black bears were the first to investigate, heading straight over to the plastic swan.

“Bears are naturally very curious animals, and keepers will encourage this with all kinds of enrichment through their habitat as this keeps their minds and bodies active. The swan boat enrichment may be a less conventional approach to stimulating their natural behaviours, but it certainly was a hit,” the zoo said. Credit: Woburn Safari Park via Storyful

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