A young wild black bear entered Sequoia Park Zoo in California last Friday, calmly interacting with captive bears. Described as a 'very polite visitor', the animal was guided back to the forest without incident. The episode went viral on social media.
The unusual encounter took place at Sequoia Park Zoo in northern California, when a worker found the bear with its nose pressed against the fence of an enclosure, observing its captive counterparts. Christine Noel, the zoo supervisor, spotted it while inspecting the Redwood Sky Walk, a 30-meter elevated path among sequoias. “I realized immediately that it wasn't one of ours,” said Noel, referring to the three resident bears: Tule, Ishŭng, and Kunabulilh.
Staff activated emergency protocols, with one employee asking over the radio: “Is this a drill?”. Local police arrived to secure visitors, stating on Facebook: “Not every day do we find ourselves helping to control a crowd that doesn't quite understand what 'stay behind the railings' means.” The bear, about one and a half years old and possibly female, stayed on the paths, without climbing railings or causing damage. “Overall, it was a very polite visitor,” Noel recounted.
Jim Campbell-Spickler, the zoo director, described how the bear approached the other specimens in an “polite” manner and played with their toys before a ranger guided it back to the forest through a service door. Authorities do not know how the animal entered, as the 2.5-meter perimeter fence with barbed wire was intact. “What we do know is that our fence is secure,” Campbell-Spickler assured, noting the zoo's proximity to a 67-acre sequoia forest.
The incident went viral on the zoo's social media, with users joking that the bear was seeking “snacks, adventures, or friends,” or that it got the date wrong for “Okto-BEAR-fest.” Campbell-Spickler attributed the visit to the curiosity typical of young bears leaving their mothers: “They are curious and hungry, and starting to find their place in the world.” Local police summed it up humorously, saying the bear was perhaps “just waiting to apply for membership.”