A Kincraig bear without a soar head thanks to his fans
WALKER the Polar Bear is spoiled for choice when it comes to headwear, after his online fans showered him with his favourite hard hats.
The Highland Wildlife Park’s resident bear has also been receiving his other favourite toys donated by his virtual friends.
Head keeper Una Richardson said: "Walker lights up when he sees you coming with a hard hat. Polar bears are naturally very playful animals and Walker is no exception.
"While he has many toys, including traffic cones and plastic barrels he loves hard hats which he can pounce on and get a hold of with his jaw.
"This enrichment has huge benefits for Walker because it encourages him to develop the natural skills polar bears rely on in the wild to hunt and catch their prey."
Una first discovered Walker’s affinity for headgear when volunteers from the Royal Monmouthsire Regiment Territorial Army and the 73 Engineer Squadron Territorial Army visited the park to assist with construction projects.
She said: "Walker showed a huge interest in the volunteer’s hard hats. He totally fixated on a hard hat one of the volunteers was holding, so we thought we would offer him one and see what he did with it."
Since then fans of Walker have been delighted to see photographs of the 58 stone bear enjoying these hard hats posted on Facebook and have even started donating them to the Highland Wildlife Park.
Una said: "Hardhats don’t last very long once Walker’s got a hold of them! After two days they are ruined so we are delighted to receive donations to keep up the supply.
"Some donations have come from people working in construction. Others have come from people who have ordered hats online and donated them to the park."
Walker came to the Wildlife Park in November 2010 from Rhenen Zoo in Holland. Since the death of Mercedes at the wildlife park in April, Walker has been the only polar bear in a public collection in the UK.
If you are interested in donating a hardhat to Walker please contact the Highland Wildlife Park on (01540) 651270 or get in touch via the Highland Wildlife Park Facebook page.
