Have you ever felt an itch of curiosity that you really would like to have answered, but knew that scratching that itch would put you in mortal peril? Taking this picture, I was dying to know what was under this fallen-down tree that had this bear so very interested.

The Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre for the conservation of British wildlife, and across two parks in England has expanded to host animals endemic to the British Isles. This includes animals that currently live in the wild in the UK, such as deer, owls, foxes, and badgers, and animals that used to live in the UK but which have since gone extinct in the wild, such as wolves, bison, lynx, and bears. Originally centred in Kent, the trust opened a park in Escot, Devon, in 2015. It was at the Escot park that these photos were taken. The Escot park hosts two European brown bears, named Mish and Lucy, who were found as cubs in Albania in 2019 having been abandoned by their mother. Attempts to reintroduce them to the wild failed, and so they have been rehomed in Devon to live out their days in safety and comfort.

Hope you enjoy!