Watch: Bear at Aspen Valley enjoys pile of pine shavings

Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary shared a video of resident bear, Paddington, enjoying some pine tree shavings. (Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary)

As summer draws nearer, a resident of Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary wasted no time getting outside and enjoying some sun.

“We think it’s safe to say that Paddington has a favourite enrichment activity... and it involves plenty of fresh pine shavings,” said the sanctuary in a social media post shared Friday.

The video features the bear digging head-first through a pile of pine shavings, covering the top of his head with the dust in the process.

He then goes back in for a couple swipes with his paw before double-dipping his head in the pile of shavings.

“Watching him enjoy the simple things is a wonderful reminder that enrichment can make all the difference,” the sanctuary said.

Paddington is one of many black bears who have taken up full-time residency at Aspen Valley.

The sanctuary says he arrived in 2019 after being rescued from a roadside zoo in Quebec that was ultimately shut down.

Sanctuary officials say they don’t know how old he is or have any information on him from his life before the zoo.