Polar bear brothers meet for first time after years apart

By Elizabeth Hunter

Polar bear brothers embraced as they met for the first time after being separated for years.

Brodie and Hamish were both born at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig, but never met - as Hamish moved to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in 2020, one year before his brother was born.

This summer, Brodie has taken a brief "holiday" to the Doncaster park, where he has been able to meet his brother for the first time.

A video taken by park staff shows the pair playing in their enclosure, rolling on the ground and wrestling in a lake.

Bex Brown, Section Head of Carnivores at Yorkshire Wildlife Park said: "When Brodie began his holiday stay with us in December, he had only ever lived with his mum, so he was very excited on arrival to see so many other bears.

"We initially introduced him to Nobby, who is our most social bear.

"Nobby was able to help him learn essential skills like sharing resources such as food!

"Recently, we introduced Hamish to Brodie and Nobby, and it was lovely to see them all playing together in the water.

"Although Hamish and Brodie are brothers, this is the first time they have met as there is a 4-year age gap, so it’s debatable whether they recognise their relation."

Despite the brothers living separately their whole lives, Bex notes that they display certain similarities - both enjoying splashing in water and playfully fighting.

She added: "It’s interesting to see similarities in the brothers.

"They were both single cubs so they both like their own way and both are big strong Scottish babies!

"Some days Brodie uses his cheeky appeal to hold top spot, and other days Hamish seems to shine as the big brother who is in charge.

"It has been really special for us here at Yorkshire Wildlife Park to be able to provide Brodie with this opportunity to develop his social skillset, and just today we found all three boys cuddles up in one of the caves together from choice!

"We will miss him when he returns home!”

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