An East Devon animal sanctuary was thrown into sudden lockdown after two bears escaped their enclosure on Monday afternoon (June 23).
Visitors to Wildwod Devon, at the 500-acre Escot estate, near Ottery St Mary, were locked inside a building for their own safety after brown bears Mish and Lucy escaped and were spotted heading for their food store.
Keepers returned the escaped bears to their enclosure within an hour and Wildwood Devon has begun looking into how the pair got free.
While the bears were free, parents with pupils at nearby Feniton primary School were told to pick up their kids, banning youngsters from walking home alone, urging caution if children were playing outside unsupervised.
An email sent by the school office alerting parents to the escaped bears said there was ‘no need for alarm’, explaining police were in the area who ‘do not see any immediate danger to the children’.
The message to parents said: “School have taken the measure to email you this information, so that children who would normally walk home alone can have arrangements made to be picked up from school.
“Children will only be dismissed from school with an adult and parents are advised to be aware of this if their children are playing outside unsupervised.”
Some neighbours of Wildwood Devon shared safety concerns on social media, one spotting the bears in a field next to their home.
The charity said ‘at no point’ had the bears left the wider confines of the park.
Wildwood Devon posted ‘the integrity of the enclosure itself was not compromised, and we’re actively investigating how this occurred.
‘The safety of our animals, staff and neighbours is our top priority, and we’re taking this extremely seriously’.
The charity said it would offer an update when more information was available.
Wildwood Devon said the four-year-old bears, known as Mish and Lucy, posed no threat to the public and been continuously monitored after escaping.
The animal sanctuary said police being called to the park was standard procedure, adding the enclosure was now secure.
The escapees scoffed a week’s worth of honey before returning to their enclosure and falling asleep.
The animals’ enclosure was not thought to have been damaged amid the bear break-out.
A spokesperson for Wildwood Devon said: “Two young bears escaped from their enclosure at Wildwood Devon this afternoon, heading straight for their food store.
“Mish and Lucy, both four years, who posed no threat to the public at any point, enjoyed a selection of snacks – including a week’s worth of honey – before being safely returned to their enclosure by the expert keeper team within the hour.
“As a precaution, all visitors on site were promptly escorted to a secure building. The bears were continuously monitored both on the ground and via CCTV until they calmly returned to their enclosure and fell asleep.
“In line with standard protocol, police attended the scene, and an investigation is now underway to determine how the incident occurred.
“The exhibit is secure, and we are grateful to our staff and visitors for their cooperation, which helped us resolve the situation swiftly and safely.”
Police confirmed specialist officers were called to the park after the bears escaped.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: “We were made aware of two resident bears having escaped from their home at Escot Park on the afternoon of Monday 23 June.
“Specialist officers attended and visitors taken to places of safety.
“The bears were safely returned to their area and secured.”
Brown bears Mish and Lucy were rehomed to East Devon in 2021 after they were found alone in a snowdrift in Albania in 2019.
They could not be returned to the wild so were temporarily homed at Wildwood Escot’s sister park in Kent, before moving to their East Devon home before Easter 2021, into a specially-built 1.5-acre natural enclosure.
