Yorkshire Wildlife Park video captures adorable moment young polar bear plays with first friend
Adorable footage shows a young polar bear playing with another polar bear for the first time at Doncaster's Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
The incredible footage shows a young polar bear playing with another polar bear for the first time after he arrived from Highland Wildlife Park earlier in December.
Brodie was full of excitement as he played with 12-year-old Nobby at Yorkshire Wildlife Park - where he is holidaying while work is being done on his home enclosure in Scotland.
Brodie, who is four years old, has settled in well after making the 260-mile journey south to the 10-acre Project Polar, which is now home to seven polar bears.
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Brodie was delighted to roam around his new temporary home and hit it off with Nobby straight away. The boisterous pair entertained visitors as they played together across the reserve and its lake.
Bex Brown, head of the park’s carnivore team, said: “We were delighted to watch Brodie and Nobby play together.
“It is quite an experience for Brodie, who hadn’t met any other polar bears apart from his mother. However, it went really well, and Brodie enjoyed the interaction.
“We initially allowed him to observe the other bears at a distance to gauge his behaviour and the other bears. Sisu and Nobby showed the most interest towards him in a very positive way. Indy was not interested at all, Yuma very slightly and Hamish appeared jealous that Sisu and Nobby were talking to him via chuffing. Brodie seemed excited to say hello to everyone.
“We then moved onto Sisu and Nobby being able to meet Brodie via a mesh slide. They could touch noses and smell each other. Brodie was very excited and liked both bears. Nobby was very calm and interacted well, so he was chosen to be Brodie's first 'friend'.
“We introduced them in a reserve together and Brodie showed no nerves and was very excited to be able to play with another male bear. Nobby is remarkably tolerant of Brodie as he has bundles of energy and needs reminding occasionally of bear etiquette.
“Overall, we are very happy with Brodie’s initial couple of weeks with us and he is developing in social bear behaviours all the time.”
Brodie may get to meet his older brother Hamish, who moved from Scotland to Project Polar five years ago. The reserve is also home to Luka, Sisu, Indiana and Yuma.
Bex Brown said: “His brother, Hamish, is used to being the centre of attention so it will be interesting to see what he thinks to the new kid on the block. We will have to assess if they can be introduced."
Brodie will be staying in Yorkshire for six months to a year while his enclosure is being refurbished.