Escaped bears roamed Devon park for 55 minutes

Near Exeter, two brown bears escaped this week – and headed straight to find some honey! Here’s exactly what happened.

Unexpected escape at Wildwood Devon

Two European brown bears made an unscheduled outing at a Devon wildlife park this week, helping themselves to a stash of honey before being safely returned to their enclosure.

Mish and Lucy, both five years old, briefly got out of their habitat at Wildwood Devon near Ottery St Mary and found their way to the site’s food stores.

There, they polished off an entire week’s supply of honey!

The pair were monitored closely by staff on the ground and through CCTV. Visitors were escorted to a secure indoor location while keepers resolved the situation.

There was no danger to the public at any point, according to the park.

How they got back to the enclosure

Mish, weighing several hundred kilograms, eventually returned of his own accord and promptly fell asleep. Lucy took a little more coaxing.

Keepers used a bell – a sound she recognises from feeding time – and some of her favourite treats to encourage her back into the enclosure.

Police were called as a precaution and an investigation is under way to determine how the escape happened. The park has confirmed that the enclosure has since been secured.

Rescued from Albania, now ambassadors for rewilding

Mish and Lucy were originally rescued from a snow drift in Albania in 2019, and have lived at Wildwood ever since.

As European brown bears, the species can grow significantly large – with adult males reaching up to 650kg.

While they are not native to modern Britain, bears are part of Wildwood’s wider mission to explore how keystone species like them might fit into future conservation strategies.

About Wildwood Devon

Set across 45 acres of ancient woodland, Wildwood Devon is a working conservation site and home to species including bears, wolves, lynx, arctic foxes, wild boar and red squirrels – all either native or once-native to the British Isles.

Alongside animal enclosures, the site includes a reconstructed Saxon village, a beech hedge maze, indoor and outdoor play areas, and nature trails.

A charity leading rewilding and native species protection

Wildwood Trust, the charity that runs the park, was founded in 2002 and focuses on restoring Britain’s lost habitats through conservation breeding and reintroduction of native wildlife.

From dormice to wildcats, its work spans across the UK with a strong focus on evidence-based rewilding – particularly the use of keystone species to restore ecosystems.

Rewilding, the charity argues, is one of the most effective tools available for reversing biodiversity loss.

All profits from park visits support these conservation efforts, and the trust runs a number of public engagement projects, education programmes, and animal adoption schemes to help fund its mission.