One Week's Worth of Honey, Two Escaped Bears, and a Well-Deserved Sugar Coma

When two brown bears escaped their enclosure at a wildlife park, they ignored the call of the wild and made a beeline for the kitchen, devouring an entire week's supply of honey before returning home for a well-earned, sugar-induced nap.

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A Conspicuous Absence

For the keepers at Wildwood Escot park in Devon, England, the day began like any other, until it didn't. A routine check on the resident European brown bears, Mish and Lucy, revealed an unnerving sight: an empty enclosure. A fallen tree, a casualty of recent weather, had crashed onto the electric fence, creating not just damage, but an opportunity. For most captive animals, such a breach signals a mad dash for freedom. For Mish and Lucy, it was the start of a very specific, very sticky, mission.

The Sweetest Escape

There was no city-wide panic, no frantic search through the surrounding countryside. The bears hadn't gone far. In fact, they hadn't even attempted to leave the park's main perimeter. Instead, they made a calculated journey to a place they apparently knew well: the staff-only food storage building. This was no random wandering; it was a targeted strike on the larder. Staff discovered the furry culprits in the act, indulging in what can only be described as the ultimate honey binge. An entire week’s supply, meant to be rationed out, was gone in a single, glorious feast.

The Sugar Crash

The great escape lasted less than an hour. Having achieved their objective, Mish and Lucy did something remarkable. They returned to their enclosure of their own volition. Park staff, preparing for a complex and potentially dangerous recapture, simply found them back at home. As General Manager George Hyde noted, the pair were discovered thoroughly “passed out,” presumably in a deep sugar coma. The public was never in danger, and the incident became less a security crisis and more a piece of local legend. The story of Mish and Lucy serves as a delightful testament to animal intelligence, problem-solving, and the profoundly universal truth that sometimes, the risk is absolutely worth the sweet, sticky reward.

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