Delight as Re-Homed Polar Bear Discovers New Favorite Toy: 'All the Feels'

A video of a polar bear at a park enjoying his new ball toy has gone viral on Instagram.

The clip was posted by Peak Wildlife Park (@peakwildlifepark) in the U.K.'s Staffordshire Moorlands district. The video has received 7.2 million views since it was shared on February 8.

A caption shared with the post reads: "Nanook loving the new ball."

Jenny Landelle of Peak Wildlife Park told Newsweek that Nanook is "a playful 2-year-old polar bear that's been a part of the Peak Wildlife Park family for the last seven months."

The footage shows a person throwing a purple ball toy into an enclosure where Nanook is seen running toward the ball. He is later seen playing with the ball in water, tossing it in the air and poking it around with his nose.

Landelle said Nanook came to the park with his mother, Hope, and brother, Noori, in need of a new home after "the zoo they were residing in closed down."

Nanook is "a real character, always up for a good time, especially when it comes to new balls," she added.

Hope and her two cubs arrived from Orsa Rovdjurspark (Orsa Predator Park) in Sweden and have been living in a specially designed five-acre habitat at Peak Wildlife Park following the Swedish park's closure. Nanook and Noori were born at Orsa in November 2021, while their mother was born in Antibes, France, in 2014, according to the Peak Wildlife Park website.

"The polar bear relocation has been a collaborative effort between the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria's (EAZA) European Ex-situ Programme (EEP) for polar bears, Orsa and Peak Wildlife Park, with a shared goal of ensuring the well-being and conservation of this iconic Arctic species," the website says.

Since May 2008, polar bears have been listed as a threatened species in the U.S. under the Endangered Species Act "due to the threat of extinction posed by the loss of sea-ice as a result of climate change," says the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, an independent government agency.

Around 23,000 animals worldwide are distributed among 19 populations, two of which are in U.S. waters, according to estimates. They include the Chukchi/Bering seas population and the Southern Beaufort Sea population, the Marine Mammal Commission says.

Sea ice forms an essential part of polar bear habitat from which polar bears hunt their primary prey—ice seals. The loss of sea ice because of climate change has forced polar bears to spend more time on land in search of food.

The findings of a February 2024 study of polar bears in Manitoba, Canada, published in Nature Communications, reinforced "the risk of starvation for polar bears on land with forecasted increases in the onshore period."

The study found that the polar bears consumed berries, vegetation, birds, bones, antlers, seal and beluga. However, "beyond compensating for elevated DEE [daily energy expenditure], there was little benefit from terrestrial foraging toward prolonging the predicted time to starvation," the study said.

"Although polar bears on land exhibit remarkable behavioral plasticity, our findings reinforce the risk of starvation, particularly in subadults," the study said.

'Like Huge Puppies'

Peak Wildlife Park's Landelle said you'll often find Nanook "splashing around and tossing" his ball toys in the air "for hours on end."

The bears at the park don't have a regular routine, but "we aim to mix things up day to day to keep every day interesting," she added.

"We feel incredibly thankful and happy that our visitors contribute to our polar bears' well-being by donating balls from our Amazon wish list. It's truly special to see our community come together to make our polar bears' lives even more joyful," Landelle said.

Users on Instagram were delighted by the adorable polar bear. User sgahigginson said: "Oh my goodness they are just like huge puppies aren't they."

User starkillergm wrote: "@heartshineholly all the feels." User perfectlypamilla noted: "Love how they always belly flop into the water lol."

And user hebbkathy wrote: "Such a great idea on how to give these animals some exercise and play time. Cuts down on boredom. Good job!!"

User mrsemcope said: "I love how he runs up to you."

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