A polar bear tossed a stone at its zoo enclosure’s glass, sparking online discussions.
Imagine visiting a zoo and observing a polar bear, only to witness it hurling a rock at the glass barrier that separates you from it. The thought might be unsettling.
At Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands, this scenario became a reality for some visitors and the bear.
The event, which occurred in 2012, was captured on video. Have a look:
The footage, circulated on various social media platforms over the years, depicts two individuals standing before the bear’s enclosure as it swims in the tank.
Suddenly, the bear appears on the left side of the screen, clutching a large rock, which it then drops as it swims past the humans, striking the glass pane of the enclosure.
The individuals give it a brief glance before resuming their conversation. The bear dives back down, only to resurface with the stone, this time dropping it from a higher point and startling the onlookers – a crack forms in the glass! Bear 1 – humans 0.
Your visions of scenes akin to those from the 2005 film Madagascar do not materialize—such events would pose far more serious risks than the film’s portrayal of friendly, performing animals on the run.
According to The HuffPost, the glass pane did not shatter, the bear was moved to a different enclosure, and the damage was repaired.
The bear, named Vicks, was adopted by the zoo after being born to another bear named Olinka. The zoo claimed at the time that Vicks was simply ‘playing’ with the stones, rather than attempting to escape.
The clip has quickly garnered reactions from viewers.
One YouTube commenter expressed: “This is literally my biggest fear about rooms like this…”
Another person noted, “I remember reading somewhere that there is 2-3 layers of glass. So the bear would have to do that another couple of times to actually get out. Still, it’s kind of alarming.”
A third user joked: “Prison Break, Season 5: Episode 1.”
And another concluded: “i would too, if i were in a cage.”