Latest news with #WildwoodTrust
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Fifty water voles bred in Kent are released in Surrey
A colony of 50 water voles has been released into the wild in Surrey, where the species has been locally extinct for 20 years. The voles, an endangered species, were bred in captivity at the Wildwood Trust in Kent, which specialises in breeding the mammals. They were released into the Chamber Mead wetlands in Epsom, created over the past two years to filter sewage pollution and other run-off out of a local stream before it enters the Hogsmill Davies, chief executive of the South East Rivers Trust, which led the project, said: "Putting the water voles back really is the cherry on the icing on the cake." She added: "We've had to bake that cake and that's taken many many many years so we're just so excited to be here and see the water voles going into their new habitat." Water voles were once widespread across the UK, inhabiting streams, rivers, canals, and wetlands. However, their numbers have declined dramatically since the 1970s due to habitat loss and predation by the American mink. Mink were brought to the UK in the last century for fur farming, but those that escaped and others that were deliberately released by animal rights activists established themselves in the wild. Now there are projects underway to bring water voles back and control the mink. Paul Whitfield, chief executive of Wildwood Trust, said: "Water vole captive breeding and reintroduction projects are incredibly important for the species."This is a species that has declined by 90%. We're really losing these animals. They're endangered." He added: "They don't travel very far so it's really essential that when we find good habitat we are able to put the water voles back to establish a population." It is hoped the released voles will establish themselves in the newly created wetlands, which catch polluted water flowing down Green Lanes Stream. Plants will act as a filter before the water enters the Hogsmill River. Chief executive of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Jackie King, said the area was a "model for successful habitat restoration".
Toronto Sun
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
‘Naughty' bears escape, steal week's worth of honey and take long nap
Published Jun 25, 2025 • 3 minute read The 5-year-old sibling bears went straight for the sweet stuff upon their escape earlier this week. MUST CREDIT: Wildwood Trust Photo by Wildwood Trust / Wildwood Trust In the fairy tale, Goldilocks enters the home of the three bears to eat their porridge and sleep in their beds. But at the Wildwood Devon conservation park in Britain, it's the bears who are doing the breaking and entering — and sleeping. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Two young bears named Lucy and Mish escaped from their enclosure earlier this week and headed straight for their food store, where they gobbled up a week's worth of honey before falling asleep, the park said in a statement on social media. Upon learning about the two escapees, staff quickly escorted the 16 visitors on-site to a secure building, following the park's 'code red' protocol, said Mark Habben, the director of zoological operations at Wildwood Trust, the conservation charity that runs the park in southwest England. The police arrived, as did the emergency team armed with firearms, prepared for the worst, he said. But the five-year-old bears, much like most human five-year-olds, appeared to want snacks more than anything else. The bears never made it beyond the staff-only food storage area, where park staff monitored them both on the ground and via CCTV until they voluntarily returned to their enclosure. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Over the past few days, Mish and Lucy have certainly made headlines, not just here in Devon, but around the world. While the situation was unexpected, we're incredibly grateful for the outcome and for the smiles it's brought to so many faces. We want to thank our local community… — Wildwood Devon (@WildwoodDevon) June 25, 2025 The food delivery had just arrived an hour before, Habben said in an interview, and the bears bypassed the vegetables to head straight for the sweet treats. 'Just like kids,' he laughed. The brother and sister plowed their way through the apples, bananas and peanut butter before discovering the honey. They ripped the lid off the plastic container and took turns dipping their paws into the golden goo, 'making a right old mess,' Habben added. With all the park's carnivores, the keepers do what is called recall work with them to condition them to return to their enclosures, Habben said. Hence, Mish and Lucy understand to return at the sound of a bell that is followed by the sound of their enclosure door sliding open, Habben explained. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Mish immediately ran back into the enclosure at the sound of door sliding open, Habben said, with Lucy following soon after at the sound of the bell. They then proceeded to romp around their enclosure in the throes of a sugar rush before promptly falling asleep in what appeared to be a sugar crash coma. 'They're naughty bears,' Habben said. 'They're very naughty bears.' This sort of 'incredibly inquisitive, playful and adventurous' behavior is fairly typical for Mish and Lucy, who are still considered young bears, said Paul Whitfield, the director general of the Wildwood Trust, in an interview. 'Them doing exactly what they're not supposed to is sort of what we expect from them.' Mish and Lucy are European brown bears, which are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a species of least concern, although the group notes that 'there are many small, isolated populations that are threatened.' In Albania, where Mish and Lucy were rescued, European brown bears are classified as vulnerable. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They were so young when they were found abandoned in a snow drift in the Albanian mountains that their rescuers had to bottle-feed them, according to Whitfield. Their rescuers tried to release them back into the wild after they were weaned 'but all they did was look for the people who were trying to release them,' Whitfield said. They arrived in Wildwood Devon in 2021, where they now live in a 1.5-acre natural enclosure where they can play and climb trees and be fed fresh salmon in the autumn in addition to the nuts and berries they receive year-round, Whitfield said, describing them as 'incredibly pampered and spoiled bears.' Mish and Lucy will soon be living with two more cheeky young bears. Malenky and Nanuq are two-year-old siblings who were born in a sanctuary in Belgium to a mother bear who had been rescued from the conflict in Ukraine. They are currently living in a separate part of the enclosure, Habben said, and the keepers had been distracted watching them play with a tractor tire when Mish and Lucy made their great escape through a part in the enclosure that hadn't been properly closed. It's unclear at the moment which sibling pair will be the worse influence on the other, given that Malenky and Nanuq's main hobby at the moment appears to be digging up their pond and locating pipes in the concrete. 'They are also very naughty,' Whitfield said. 'It looks like we'll have our hands full in the future.' RECOMMENDED VIDEO Toronto & GTA Other Sports NHL Music Columnists
Boston Globe
25-06-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
‘Naughty' bears escape, steal a week's worth of honey and take long nap
Advertisement But the 5-year-old bears, much like most human 5-year-olds, appeared to want snacks more than anything else. The bears never made it beyond the staff-only food storage area, where park staff monitored them both on the ground and via CCTV until they voluntarily returned to their enclosure. Related : The food delivery had just arrived an hour before, Habben said in an interview, and the bears bypassed the vegetables to head straight for the sweet treats. 'Just like kids,' he laughed. The brother and sister plowed their way through the apples, bananas, and peanut butter before discovering the honey. They ripped the lid off the plastic container and took turns dipping their paws into the golden goo, 'making a right old mess,' Habben added. Advertisement European brown bear siblings Mish and Lucy were rescued from a snow drift in the Albanian mountains when they were just cubs. Wildwood Trust With all the park's carnivores, the keepers do what is called recall work to condition them to return to their enclosures, Habben said. Hence, Mish and Lucy understand to return at the sound of a bell followed by the sound of their enclosure door sliding open, Habben explained. Mish immediately ran back into the enclosure at the sound of door sliding open, Habben said, with Lucy following at the sound of the bell. They then proceeded to romp around their enclosure in the throes of a sugar rush before promptly falling asleep in what appeared to be a sugar crash coma. 'They're naughty bears,' Habben said. 'They're very naughty bears.' This sort of 'incredibly inquisitive, playful, and adventurous' behavior is fairly typical for Mish and Lucy, who are still considered young bears, said Paul Whitfield, director general of the Wildwood Trust, in an interview. 'Them doing exactly what they're not supposed to is sort of what we expect from them.' Related : Mish and Lucy are European brown bears, which are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a species of least concern, although the group notes that 'there are many small, isolated populations that are threatened.' In Albania, where Mish and Lucy were rescued, European brown bears are classified as vulnerable. The bears were so young when they were found abandoned in a snow drift that their rescuers had to bottle-feed them, according to Whitfield. Their rescuers tried to release them back into the wild after they were weaned, 'but all they did was look for the people who were trying to release them,' Whitfield said. They arrived in Wildwood Devon in 2021, where they now live in a 1.5-acre natural enclosure where they can play, climb trees, and be fed fresh salmon in the autumn, in addition to the nuts and berries they receive year-round, Whitfield said, describing them as 'incredibly pampered and spoiled bears.' Advertisement Mish and Lucy will soon be living with two more cheeky young bears. Malenky and Nanuq are 2-year-old siblings who were born in a sanctuary in Belgium to a mother bear who had been rescued from the conflict in Ukraine.
IOL News
25-06-2025
- General
- IOL News
Runaway bears steal honey and sleep it off
Two young bears named Lucy and Mish escaped from their enclosure earlier this week and headed straight for their food store, where they gobbled up a week's worth of honey before falling asleep, the park said on social media. IN the fairy tale, Goldilocks enters the home of the three bears to eat their porridge and sleep in their beds. But at the Wildwood Devon conservation park in Britain, it's the bears who are doing the breaking and entering - and sleeping. Upon learning about the two escapees, staff quickly escorted the 16 visitors on-site to a secure building, following the park's 'code red' protocol, said Mark Habben, the director of zoological operations at Wildwood Trust, the conservation charity that runs the park in southwest England. The police arrived, as did the emergency team armed with firearms, prepared for the worst, he said. But the 5-year-old bears, much like most human 5-year-olds, appeared to want snacks more than anything else. The bears never made it beyond the staff-only food storage area, where park staff monitored them both on the ground and via CCTV until they voluntarily returned to their enclosure. The food delivery had just arrived an hour before, Habben said in an interview, and the bears bypassed the vegetables to head straight for the sweet treats. 'Just like kids,' he laughed. The brother and sister plowed their way through the apples, bananas and peanut butter before discovering the honey. They ripped the lid off the plastic container and took turns dipping their paws into the golden goo, 'making a right old mess,' Habben added. With all the park's carnivores, the keepers do what is called recall work with them to condition them to return to their enclosures, Habben said. Hence, Mish and Lucy understand to return at the sound of a bell that is followed by the sound of their enclosure door sliding open, Habben explained. Mish immediately ran back into the enclosure at the sound of the door sliding open, Habben said, with Lucy following soon after at the sound of the bell. They then proceeded to romp around their enclosure in the throes of a sugar rush before promptly falling asleep in what appeared to be a sugar crash coma. 'They're naughty bears,' Habben said. 'They're very naughty bears.' This sort of 'incredibly inquisitive, playful and adventurous' behavior is fairly typical for Mish and Lucy, who are still considered young bears, said Paul Whitfield, the director general of the Wildwood Trust, in an interview. 'Them doing exactly what they're not supposed to is sort of what we expect from them.' Mish and Lucy are European brown bears, which are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a species of least concern, although the group notes that 'there are many small, isolated populations that are threatened.' In Albania, where Mish and Lucy were rescued, European brown bears are classified as vulnerable. They were so young when they were found abandoned in a snow drift in the Albanian mountains that their rescuers had to bottle-feed them, according to Whitfield. Their rescuers tried to release them back into the wild after they were weaned 'but all they did was look for the people who were trying to release them,' Whitfield said. They arrived in Wildwood Devon in 2021, where they now live in a 1.5-acre natural enclosure where they can play and climb trees and be fed fresh salmon in the autumn in addition to the nuts and berries they receive year-round, Whitfield said, describing them as 'incredibly pampered and spoiled bears.' Mish and Lucy will soon be living with two more cheeky young bears. Malenky and Nanuq are 2-year-old siblings who were born in a sanctuary in Belgium to a mother bear who had been rescued from the conflict in Ukraine. They are currently living in a separate part of the enclosure, Habben said, and the keepers had been distracted watching them play with a tractor tire when Mish and Lucy made their great escape through a part in the enclosure that hadn't been properly closed. It's unclear at the moment which sibling pair will be the worst influence on the other, given that Malenky and Nanuq's main hobby at the moment appears to be digging up their pond and locating pipes in the concrete. 'They are also very naughty,' Whitfield said. 'It looks like we'll have our hands full in the future.'
BBC News
25-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Rogue bears' honey supply replenished by community in Devon
A pair of bears who escaped and raided their keepers' food store in Devon are in the honey once more thanks to generous community donations. European brown bears Mish and Lucy sparked a "code red" on Tuesday, in an escape that conservation charity Wildwood Trust said was caused by an unlocked dynamic duo consumed "a week's worth of honey", the trust said, as well as jam and other supplies - prompting a "sugar rush" and leaving a depleted larder in their Habben, director of zoological operations at Wildwood Trust, near Exeter, said: "I think everyone's picked up on the fact bears really do love honey - we've had donations including a 15kg (33lb) tub." Mr Habben added: "We've also had donations to purchase more honey."It's just been been really lovely support from the local community."I couldn't have more gratitude for how people have responded to this and rallied around and offered support and also come in to see Mish and Lucy."People have picked up the cheeky element of bears, I think, and that they're a lovely, peaceful animal."Mr Habben said they had also been inundated by visitors since the incident captured imaginations across the country and beyond. It was at about 15:00 BST on Monday that the young bears "breached" the enclosure and made their way to a staff the duo "feasted and played around", a park evacuation and lockdown took place, while staff trained in firearms and the police were deployed to the about 55 minutes, Lucy made her way back to the enclosure, while Mish was lured back with a bell and some food. 'Crashed out' Mr Habben said the sugar from the honey hit the bears shortly afterwards."They gorged on honey and then they somehow needed to burn all of the energy off that that honey had created."They charged around for a good few hours, climbing up the trees, which was really fun to see, and jumping in the pond."He said they then "crashed out" in a deep sleep "for hours" - just as an influx of visitors arrived to see the now-famous bears."I think it was all of the running around from the sugar rush coupled with all of that sensory enrichment from being somewhere they shouldn't. They are like toddlers." Mr Habben said a safety review was now under way to ensure the unlocked gate "never happens again"."We've been transparent that a mistake was made but at the end of it is a really positive ending and the engagement has been great."
