A mother black bear and her cubs were seen cooling off in a pile of ice at the Oakland Zoo.
A black bear and her three cubs have been enjoying a refreshing cool-down, courtesy of the Oakland Zoo.
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In a video posted by the Zoo, the cubs can be seen jumping, eating and sliding through slushy ice cubes alongside their mother Thursday morning as they “bear” the California heat.
The zoo said in a Facebook post that there were treats hidden in the ice pile. They also provided a shout out to Peninsula Ice, which provided the cubes.
The playful babies were seen digging and fighting through the mound with their mom. There were also larger ice blocks for the cubs to inspect and entertain themselves with.
The mother black bear was set to be euthanized about a month ago by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) when she swatted a homeowner after breaking into a Kern County house.
CDFW policy explains that bears are to be put down if they attack or injure a human because they are considered to be a public safety hazard.
However, the mother’s three cubs were still weaning and needed her comfort.
The CDFW took in the family with the hope of sending the cubs back into the wild after their mother's death.
After keeping an eye on the four bears and monitoring their behavior, the CDFW came to the conclusion that they were not applicants for release in their natural habitat since they had been adapted to humans.
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The Oakland Zoo asked to take the family, including the mother, which exempted her from being euthanized.
The zoo is now planning to keep the bears in their new 56-acre California Trail exhibit after construction is completed.
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