June 10 (UPI) — A Kansas zoo was temporarily evacuated when a Syrian brown bear “apparently decided that life in the zoo had become unbearable” and attempted to tunnel out of its enclosure.
The City of Independence said in a Facebook post that visitors were led away from the Ralph Mitchell Zoo when the bear, one of three sisters in the enclosure, made an unsuccessful escape attempt on Sunday.
“Although the bear never made it outside the enclosure, she did manage to burrow under the viewing platform and barely slip out of sight of staff for a very short period of time,” the post said. “Staff responded quickly to the situation, luring the bear back to the safety of her enclosure and taking steps to strengthen the enclosure to eliminate any chance of a future escape.”
Officials wrote that the incident was resolved within 10 minutes and the Independence Police Department was notified.
“The safety of our visitors is always our first priority, followed by the well-being of our animals, so I am very grateful for the quick actions of zoo staff and responding officers to avert danger,” said Independence City Manager Kelly Passauer.
The three bears will be kept out of the exhibit for a few days while zookeepers work to strengthen the enclosure, the post said.
“Thank you to everyone who helped us through this situation,” the zoo said on Facebook.
