Rescued bear, Diego, 'settles in well' at new Devon home

A brown bear that recently moved from Sweden to the UK has been settling in with the help of honey, peanut butter and his neighbouring bears, his keepers have said.

Diego was moved to the Wildwood Trust, near Exeter, in November after he was saved from being put down.

His keepers said he had been slowly moving into a "winter torpor" - a deep sleep with short periods of activity.

The trust said Diego had "really settled" into his new home.

His keeper James Burrell, who also helps care for the trust's other two bears Lucy and Mish, said: "I think Diego is definitely still adjusting to the UK climate, it was an awful lot colder in Sweden."

Mark Habben, the trust's head of bears, said Diego had "slowed right down", was not "fully asleep", but that all bears experienced different levels of sleepiness in torpor.

He said: "Every single bear is different. Diego has really settled into his accommodation.

"The fact he's got two other bears in a similar area has caused a lot of interest, and he has lots of enrichment and we are monitoring him with cameras and visually."

He said Diego enjoyed honey and peanut butter, which was sometimes spread on dog toys to keep him amused.

Diego, who was originally found "abandoned and very skinny" in a Swedish forest in 2011, moved to Devon in November from Sweden's Orsa Predator Park, Mr Burrell said.

From December through to March, bears often go into a winter torpor, a period of rest in which they "sleep deeply for weeks or months with short periods of activity", he said.

Diego is due to be moved to Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park, near Ipswich, in 2024.

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