Polar bear plunges into zoo moat

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Officials with Wisconsin's Milwaukee County Zoo said one of their polar bears took his second tumble into the moat surrounding his enclosure in 15 years.

Laura Pedriani, the zoo's marketing director, said the bear, Zero, was caught by the safety net in the moat just as he was during his tumble 15 years ago, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday.

"There's a wire mesh toward the bottom of the moat for just this kind of thing," Pedriani said.

Pedriani said Zero, who is nearly 19 years old, fell into the 17-foot-deep moat about 12:30 p.m. Monday while playing with a plastic toy. She said the polar bear had apparently not noticed how close he was to the moat when he took his fall.

Pedriani said the bear climbed out of the net uninjured and continued to play with his toys in the moat.