Zookeeper Builds a Raft for Polar Bear Family — and They Seemed to Enjoy Every Moment of It

Polar bears like to have a jolly time in the water. Seeing this, Make It Mike from the Peak Wildlife Park (@peakwildlifepark) decided to make them a raft, so that they could enjoy their playtime to the fullest. The whole endeavor, including the reactions of the polar bears, was recorded and published on social media. The expression on the face of the bears while playing with their toy was priceless. A month later, an update arrived regarding the raft experiment on Instagram, and safe to say it contained both high and low moments.

The video began with the park's staff pulling the raft, likely to get it close to the polar bears. Then, viewers get a glimpse of the various ways in which the bears, named Hope, Nanook, and Noori, interact with the raft. The adorable animals squished it, flipped it, floated on it, and whatnot. They fell a lot, but didn't seem to mind their trustworthy red raft. The polar bears appeared to be both cheerful and inquisitive with their new toy. The caption on the Instagram post read, "The raft was a huge success. Hope, Nawnook, and Noori loved it; they played with it for weeks!"

A whole family of polar bears played with the raft, according to Newsweek. "Our team had seen that another zoo had tried to build one but had been unsuccessful," Becky Parsons of Peak Wildlife Park shared, adding, "Our keeper, Mike, loves building enrichment for our animals and loves a challenge, so he got in contact with the other zoo and built it!" Parsons and her team are always on the lookout for such ideas for entertaining the bears who live in the enclosure. New activities like these keep them "mentally, physically, and environmentally stimulated," as per Parsons.

After hours of playing, the sad news arrived: the raft had given up. But hey, it's the memories that matter. One of the polar bears seemed upset at this turn of events. The creature softly put his nose on the raft, tugging at our heartstrings. Despite the sad ending, the officials seemed to be happy with the toy and shared that it lasted for weeks. The video ended with a question, "Shall we make another?" The comment section sure had an answer. @viking_pirate_samurai_wizard had an emphatic response to the query on the video. He wrote, "Yes, make them another one!!" @joey.daniele had some suggestions to make the raft more durable and commented, "Build them a strong floating platform! I’m sure they’d love one to chill on."

Other ways in which the authorities keep the bears stimulated are through the design of their enclosure. The wood chip piles look like piles of snow and ice, which the bears often jump in and sleep. The area is also filled with several trees and mounds, which replicate their natural habitat, so that they feel at home. "Their enclosure is made up of two differently designed areas; they have full access to both areas, so they can choose where they want to be. One area is more open, whereas the other has more trees. Both areas have large deep pools, one is 8 meters deep and the other is 6 meters deep. They spend a lot of their time in the water, so it is great they have access to these pools," Parsons added.

The placement of animals in such enclosures is a hotly debated topic amongst experts. Some believe that it affects their quality of life, while others believe it enhances the species' chance of survival. Polar bears are currently listed as "vulnerable" by WWF, and operations like these could help in the sustenance of these species. "European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)-accredited zoos, such as Peak Wildlife Park, ensure to reach the highest of animal welfare standards and work very closely with species monitors to ensure animals in zoos are genetically healthy," Parsons explained. 

The park shared another video on YouTube that revealed they had indeed fulfilled their followers' wishes. It showed how Mike again used his magic to create a beautiful raft. The new raft was a recycled version of the old one. The bears found the toy on their own and started to jump on it. Some were pushing and pulling as well as biting. Considering that no more updates have arrived about the raft since then, we're hoping that the new version survived and thrived.  

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