Life is never dull at our sanctuary in Chengdu - and just recently female bear Mutzi caused quite a stir when a bird decided to nestle in her fur. Heidi, our Bear Manager, and the team saw the bird in the enclosure and watched as it made a beeline for a bear.

As Heidi said, "the bird was fluttering about the log pile whilst the team and I enriched the enclosure. It could definitely fly because as I approached, it flew out of the enclosure. We let the bears out to forage and no sooner were they out there did the little bird fly straight in and perch on Mutzi's back. Mutzi seemed completely none-the-wiser and went on her way gobbling up whatever treats she could find. The funny thing was, as she moved about, the bird would flutter about to continually reposition itself in the thick fur near her shoulder blades. The team watched the bird do this for a good 30 minutes or so before it flew away again. I guess it was nice and warm there."

Vicki took the pics.... and here, quite remarkably, perhaps the first documented pictures of a bird trying to nest in a bear.