We’re all aware that humans, rats and certain half-shelled martial arts enthusiasts love pizza. But it appears we can now add another animal to that list: bears. Back in September, a starving bear cub, since nicknamed "Little Louie", was found eating his way through the storeroom of a pizza shop in Colorado. He needed some serious TLC, but we're happy to report that Little Louie, now aged one, has been officially released back into the wild.

After he was captured, Louie was moved to a wildlife rehab centre, where he was nursed back to health along with two other bear room-mates. Now weighing in at an impressive 140 pounds, Louie and his bear buddies are settling into a temporary den about two hours from Colorado Springs, where they’ll most likely hibernate through the rest of the winter.

"We'll know it's a win if we never see these bears again," says Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kyle Davidson. "We want them to stay up in the wild and be bears."

Funnily enough, it wasn't actually pizza that Louie was caught eating. When wildlife officials found him, he was nose deep in a vat of cinnamon-roll icing (we feel you, buddy). Sugary binges aside, Davidson doesn't have any concerns that the bear trio will be able to find non-human food in their natural habitat. "Bears are very smart," he said. "They'll go wherever their natural food sources and noses take them."

__

Top header image: Conrad Olson, Flickr