Brodie meets Nobby
A traditional friendly Yorkshire welcome has given a young polar bear a Christmas treat.
Brodie was full of excitement as he played with 12-year-old Nobby at the award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park where he is holidaying while work is being done on his home enclosure in Scotland.
23 December 2025
Brodie, who is four years old, settled in well after making the 260-mile journey south to the ten-acre Project Polar, a world-class habitat that is now home to seven polar bears at the 150-acre Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP)
Brodie, who lives at the Highland Wildlife Park, in the Cairngorms, was delighted to roam around his new temporary home and hit it off with Nobby straight away.
The boisterous park played together across the reserve and its lake entertaining visitors to the park at Auckley, near Doncaster.
“We were delighted to watch Brodie and Nobby play together,” said Bex Brown, head of the park’s carnivore team. “It is quite an experience for Brodie, who hadn’t met any other polar bears apart from his mother.
“However, it went really well, and Brodie enjoyed the interaction.
“We initially allowed him to observe the other bears at a distance to gauge his behaviour and the other bears. Sisu and Nobby showed the most interest towards him in a very positive way. Indy was not interested at all, Yuma very slightly and Hamish appeared jealous that Sisu and Nobby were talking to him via chuffing.
“Brodie seemed excited to say hello to everyone.
“We then moved onto Sisu and Nobby being able to meet Brodie via a mesh slide. They could touch noses and smell each other. Brodie was very excited and liked both bears. Nobby was very calm and interacted well, so he was chosen to be Brodies first 'friend'.
“We introduced them in a reserve together and Brodie showed no nerves and was very excited to be able to play with another male bear.
“Nobby is remarkably tolerant of Brodie as he has bundles of energy and needs reminding occasionally of bear etiquette.
“Overall, we are very happy with Brodie’s initial couple of weeks with us and he is developing in social bear behaviours all the time.”
Brodie may even get to meet to his older brother Hamish, who moved from Scotland to Project Polar five years ago. The reserve is also home to Luka, Sisu, Indiana and Yuma, who enjoy a wide-ranging area designed to replicate the Arctic tundra found in North Canada during the summer.
“His brother, Hamish, is used to being the centre of attention so it will be interesting to see what he thinks to the new kid on the block,” added Brown. “We will have to assess if they can be introduced."
Brodie will be staying in Yorkshire for six months to a year while his enclosure is being refurbished. Experts from YWP have been assessing Brodie’s behaviour as he gets used to his new surroundings and he will be gradually introduced to the other polars.
Project Polar is a leading centre in the study of polar bears and the mission to save the species that is under threat from disappearing habitat caused by global warming.
YWP, which like the Winter Illuminations are open every day except Christmas day, is at the forefront of a series of conservation projects and offers visitors a unique walk-through experience coming almost face-to-face with some of the world’s most beautiful and at-risk species, including Polar Bears, Black Rhinos, Giraffes and African Painted Dogs.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Resort boasts The Hex Wildlife Hotel and The Yorkshire Hive – the shopping, dining and entertainment village.