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Zookeepers are obviously accustomed to getting up close and personal with animals over the course of their day. However, some employees at a zoo in California had an unexpected encounter with a wild bear that was spotted hanging out with its own kind after managing to infiltrate its grounds.
California is home to over 25 zoos, and none of them are older than the Sequoia Park Zoo, which is located in the heart of a redwood forest in Eureka and has been open since 1907. It’s a relatively tiny operation but one that’s still home to more than 150 species, including otters, red pandas, and three black bears named Tule, Ishŭng, and Nabu.
All three of those bears were brought to the zoo for rehabilitative reasons and will spend the rest of their life in captivity due to concerns about their ability to survive outside of a controlled habitat. However, they did get the chance to interact with a wild member of their species courtesy of an intruder that recently stopped by.
A wild bear was spotted mingling with some other bears after making its way into the Sequoia Park Zoo
Employees at the zoo were preparing to open for business on the morning of October 17th when workers inspecting its Redwood Sky Walk attraction sounded the alarm after spotting a black bear casually roaming around.
According to The New York Times, they quickly determined the bear in question was not a member of the aforementioned trio, although the intruder did get the chance to interact with them after making its way toward their habitat and getting “nose-to-nose” through the fencing while making “polite introductions.”
It did not enter any animal enclosures during its visit, which came to an end after a team of staffers guided it toward a service exit with the help of the Eureka Police Department and officials from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The zoo is still attempting to determine how the bear managed to get over the wall that surrounds it—an eight-foot-tall barrier topped with barbed wire—and the leading theory is that it scaled a tree and dropped down before treating itself to a tour.