A wild black bear that slipped into a zoo was spotted visiting some of its brethren. The American black bear, which had somehow found its way into Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, California, was spotted at about 9:30 a.m., leaning on a gate to watch its resident bears—Tule, Ishŭng, and Kunabulilh—through their fence, the zoo said on Facebook. Police and California Fish and Wildlife responded, with officers using nonlethal shotgun projectiles to push the animal back toward the woods “to provide the bear with a negative human interaction,” a state spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times. The bear never entered any animal enclosures and left via a service gate after a brief inspection of “enrichment items” that provide stimulation for animals, the zoo said. “Overall, he was a very polite visitor,” the zoo added. The Times reported that the perimeter fence was intact and that the bear may have climbed a tree to enter from adjacent Sequoia Park’s 60 acres. Zoo officials reminded guests to observe wildlife from a distance and stay on marked trails.
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