A private Canadian zoo reportedly took out a bear for an ice cream. Their little adventure apparently did not go down well with the local authorities and the zoo is now facing charges for failing to inform the provincial government about the trip.
The news emerged online after Discovery Wildlife Park shared the video of a Kodiak bear sitting in the passenger seat of a truck and licking ice cream through a window.
In the video, the one-year-old bear, named Berkley, was seen leaning her head through the truck's window and very enthusiastically licking a spoonful of ice cream held by the owner of a local Dairy Queen.
According to the wildlife officials in Alberta, the zoo and its owners are currently facing two charges. One, failure to inform the government about the drive-thru Dairy Queen. The second complaint dates back to 2017 when seven-month-old Berkley had just arrived from the United States and the zoo authority failed to inform officials that the bear had been taken home so she could be bottle-fed.
"Under the terms and conditions of the zoo's permit, the charges are directly related to the alleged failure of the park to notify the provincial government prior to the bear leaving the zoo," Alberta Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.
Doug Bos, the owner of the zoo, told The Guardian, "We made a mistake. I'm embarrassed about it. Every time we take an animal off the property, we're supposed to notify Fish and Wildlife, send them an email, and we forgot to do that in both instances."
He also said that he was happy to know how strictly regulated the zoo industry is in Canada.
He went on: "I'm glad that they followed through with it because it shows how strictly regulated the zoo industry is in the province because there are so many people out there that think it's not, they think anybody can just do anything they want."
Bos also added that the zoo was not charged for taking out the bear for ice cream but for failing to inform the government. He further emphasized how well trained their bears are.
"These bears aren't just your average bear that we go snag out of the wild and do this," he said.
