Watching someone — whether a human or an animal — play with joy always makes that radiate to others. And a new video of a polar bear proves this point even more.
On February 8, 2024, the TikTok account for Peak Wildlife Park in Staffordshire Moorlands, shared a video of a very happy polar bear. Take a look!
@peakwildlifeparkPart2: Nanook loving the new ball 🟣🐻❄️ Ball from @jollypets #polarbear #cuteanimals #polarbearcub #cub #conservation #animalsplaying #bear #newball #animalsoftiktok #playtime #foryoupage #foryou
In the 19-second clip, we see a caretaker at Peak Wildlife Park heading up to one of the polar bears with a brand-new toy for them.
Related: Polar Bear at the Calgary Zoo Gives Little Girl a ‘High Five’
She walks up to the fence and tosses a purple ball into the enclosure of one of the polar bears, who knows exactly what to do with the ball.
The polar bear, named Nanook, runs up to the ball and kicks it, and they have such a pep in their step that you can feel the joy immediately.
From there, the bear takes the ball into the water. They throw the ball up into the air and then jump into the water.
While in the water, they throw the ball into the air and dive down to get it back up again. It’s the cutest thing. We had no idea polar bears knew how to have this much fun.
In the comment section, people were having so much fun watching Nanook have so much fun.
“Why do I feel that fence is not adequate protection from a polar bear?” wrote one person.
“I love the way he comes running for the toy,” added someone else.
“I’m convinced that polar bears are just oversized puppies,” admitted another.
“Something that dangerous shouldn’t be that dang cute.” questioned one viewer.
“They think that fence is gonna stop me from booping that snoot?” joked another.
Facts about polar bears
According to the Wild Life Foundation, polar bears spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, and they’re the only bear species considered to be marine mammals. Under all that white fur, a polar bear is black, and the fur isn’t actually white; it’s translucent.
Another important fact is that there are 19 subpopulations of polar bears, and all of them are selectable to climate change, and it’s impacting all those populations.
“The IUCN estimates there are currently about 26,000 polar bears worldwide,” the Polar Bears International says.
“But without action on climate change, we could lose all but a few polar bear populations by the end of the century.”
“In addition to climate warming, other challenges to the bears include increased commercial activities, conflicts with people, pollution, disease, inadequate habitat protection (of denning and seasonal resting areas), and the potential for over-harvest in smaller or declining polar bear populations,” the organization continued.
We’re so glad to see this sweet bear having so much fun!
