One little bear has decided he’s no longer interested in fending for himself. He wants to take a vacation to the all-inclusive spa in his neighborhood, the zoo. The caption speaks for itself, “A wild black bear in Eureka was found inside the Sequoia Park Zoo visiting with the zoo’s three captive bears, officials said.”
The news story goes on to explain that the wild bear stopped by to chat up his captivity cousins. Eventually, the bear agreed to head on back to his natural habitat. Zoo employees called the bear, “polite,” which seems to put the right spin on this encounter.
Commenters were absolutely thrilled by this story with top poster, @raindropsarefalling, imitating Mr. (or perhaps Mrs.) Bear, “‘My guy, what you in for.” @kiwicaitly2 took another approach with “He said ‘wait they bring food to you?'” One person, @theghostgay, who claimed to have witnessed the event first hand jumped in, “I was on shift when this happened. He was playing with the enrichment.” We guess that’s a solid vote for the toys they’ve provided to the bears who live there.
Lastly, @dshorb got the exchange just right, “Free-range Bear: ‘Hey, how is it in there?’ Zoo Bear: ‘Not too bad. Don’t have to hunt my food down. Good medical.'” It’s good to know Free-Range Bear can stop by and see his friends any time.
Related: Bear Shows Up at Family Reunion & All Chaos Ensues
What do bears like to play with?
In the wild, bears forage and fish for food, which means these enrichment activities often revolve around similar behaviors. For example, they might get a puzzle toy that includes a treat to encourage them to work for their food. Some zoos even smear honey around the bear enclosures so the inhabitants can go looking for it.
Interestingly, while we think of bears as being meat eaters, the black bear diet consists mostly of plants, including berries and leaves. They also snack on insects and fish, of course. The wild bear must have smelled some delicious morsels and decided to stop in for an all-you-can-eat buffet.
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This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Oct 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
