Four-month-old Finnegan Bear might be called “Fearless Finnegan” since his recent introduction to the Wild Enclosure.  He has climbed just about every tree in the entire enclosure, and a few days ago he discovered the Cubby Pool.  Maybe he thought his water dish had grown a whole lot and  he decided to take a drink  We have a wonderful series of photos of his experience.  You’ll laugh at the little cub as he learns about the pool – certainly learning more than he had planned at the outset.

Finn discovers the pool and decides to take a drink.

He puts his paw in the water. It was a hot day, so the water probably felt good.

This was a good discovery!

Another drink, and more cool water on his paws.

Finn puts both paws in the cool water.

He leans in to get another drink. . .

. . .and SPLASH! in he goes!

Fortunately, Curator Janet had thought to put some logs in and around the pool for just such an event.

Finn climbs up on a log to get out of the water.

Balancing is a bit tricky, but bears have excellent balance.

He’s getting the idea now.

There’s more than one way to manage these logs.

Finnegan is proud of himself for conquering the pool. It almost seems that he is smiling.

It seems certain that the intrepid cub will return to the pool now that the weather has warmed up and he’s found out how much fun a swim can be.  Bears are excellent swimmers, and Finnegan has just learned that he can master the water!