Wildwood Trust is inviting visitors to see Mish and Lucy this Easter before they journey to their forever home
Wildwood Trust, the conservation charity and wildlife park near Canterbury in Kent, is encouraging visitors to come out of lockdown hibernation this Easter holidays and meet its resident bear cubs before they move to their forever home in Devon.
After 8 months at Wildwood Trust, rescued brown bear cubs, Mish & Lucy, will move to the Trust’s sister site, Escot, near Ottery St Mary in Devon later this spring, giving locals and visitors to Kent a last chance to see them once the park reopens on 12 April.
Moving the bears to Devon will be one of this year’s highlights for the Trust, which is a world-leader in bear rescue & rehabilitation. The cubs will start their new life in a 1.5 acre custom-built woodland home, where they can forage, play, explore and indulge their natural instincts and behaviours.
“Mish and Lucy have become firm favourites here at Wildwood and while we will all no doubt miss them, we’re so excited for them to head down to our sister site to their forever home. After a tough start in life we’re delighted to be able to offer the cubs a fresh start. We’ve been building their new home since they arrived with us last year, it’s so exciting to see it come together and filled to the brim with fantastic features for Mish and Lucy to enjoy.” Explained Paul Whitfield, Director General at Wildwood Trust.
Farewell presents from keepers
While the cubs won’t be moving for some weeks yet, keepers who have cared for them since August last year couldn’t resist throwing a little farewell party with enrichment presents stuffed with the cubs favourite treats including apples and sweet potatoes.
Wildwood bear keeper, Jon Forde, explains; “Although we will miss their cheeky personalities, we couldn’t be happier that Mish and Lucy are moving to their fantastic new home in Devon. Luckily we still have Fluff and Scruff, our wonderful adult bears, here at Kent and the two of them have just ventured out into their woodland enclosure after their winter slumber for the summer season which is always exciting.”
Visitors can see Mish and Lucy every day from April 12 until they leave for Wildwood Escot later this spring. The Trust has the Visit England ‘Good to Go’ seal of approval highlighting covid-safe places to visit and has been praised by visitors for its easy-to-follow and sensible covid security features.
