New Polar Bear Pals Getting Along Swimmingly

New friends Walker and Arktos take a dip. CREDIT: Highland Wildlife Park. View full size image

Two young male polar bears at a Scotland zoo have become fast friends, and keepers recently allowed the youngsters to become roommates.

The two bears, four-year-old Arktos and three-year-old Walker, were first introduced in early April.  Yet after only a month of hang time the furry pair couldn't bear to be parted, so zoo staff at Highland Wildlife Park allowed them to move into the same 5-acre enclosure.

"We had really only started to introduce them for longer periods of time during the day when we spotted Arktos was missing Walker at night, whining and trying to get into the main enclosure to be with him," head keeper Una Richardson said in a statement.

Now the rambunctious boys pass their days playing together, and spend nights sleeping snuggled up close.

"They love nothing more than having a good wrestle, giving chase and also stealing each other’s meat at feeding time," Richardson said. "The boys tend to sleep quite close together in their enclosure at night, usually nose to nose or paw to paw."

The two bears won't reach an age where they typically long for female company for two or three more years. In order to introduce a female bear, the zoo would need to build an additional polar bear enclosure, according to a statement from zoo staff.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook.