Brown bears come out of winter self-isolation at Wildwood
16:19, 30 March 2020
updated: 16:40, 30 March 2020
While we continue to seclude ourselves at home, two brown bears have done the complete opposite and come out of self-isolation.
Fluff and Scruff - at Wildwood, in Herne Common - spent four months hibernating in the warmth during the winter.
The bears are released into a large enclosure
But now, the pair are back into full-functioning-mode and are free to explore their large wooded enclosure.
Having not been fed for four months the bears have naturally lost a lot of weight, and are therefore keen to forage around and line their stomachs.
Named torpor, the bears' self-isolation results in a heavily-reduced state of activity as their metabolism slows and they become very sleepy.
The return of the bears is usually a big event for Wildwood with several hundred visitors entering a raffle to open the gate to their big enclosure.
Weighing up to a hefty 350kg, brown bears spend hours each day foraging for berries, nuts, roots and leaves.
Before going into torpor, Fluff and Scruff tucked into a 'last meal' of cabbage and parsnip.
The pair were rescued by the team at Wildwood from Bulgaria back in November 2014.
They were living a life of neglect in barren concrete cells at a disused bear breeding station.
Latest news
Most popular
- 1
Motorway blocked due to ‘police incident’
- 2
Inside late TV star’s multi-million-pound home
13 - 3
Everything we know about the Russian ship stranded off Kent carrying explosives
31 - 4
‘The nursery called and said ‘don’t panic - but she’s choked’’
8 - 5
No end in sight for ‘absolute disaster’ one-way system
22