Turkish Bee Farmer Made the Bears That Kept Stealing His Honey Into Taste Testers

While it might seem like something only fictional bears in storybooks get up to, the animals are notorious for their love of honey.

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Image via Getty/Ben Birchall - PA Images

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While it might seem like something only fictional bears in storybooks get up to, the animals are notorious for their love of honey and will go to great lengths to get a hold of it. One bee farmer in Turkey was under seige by so many local bears stealing his honey that he decided to use it to his advantage. After losing more than $10,000 in honey over three years, Ibrahim Sedef decided to use the bears as his own personal taste testers.

Winnie the Pooh these bears are not, sneaking their way into Sedef's crates to make sure they can get ahold of the expensive honey. To stop them from making such a mess and trashing his hives, Sedef went through the effort to set up a table with numerous samples of his honey, DHA reports. He struggled to keep the ursine mammals away, even after leaving them snacks and locking the hives in metal cages, but by setting up a honey buffet he was able to understand their behavior further.

This is what happened in an epic battle between a beekeeper and honey-stealing bears in Turkey’s Trabzon province pic.twitter.com/LexHMCYwLz

— TRT World (@trtworld) August 21, 2019

Sedef quickly learned the bears gravitated toward the priciest variety he produces, Anzer honey. The smell attracted the bears, who would sometimes even skip over the other varieties. Two pounds of Sedef's Anzer honey reportedly sells for around $300, so it's safe to say the bears have an expensive taste.

OK, a bee farmer was tired of bears stealing his honey, so he turned them into taste testers. This is a #picturebook! pic.twitter.com/xGcOzFLYev

— Tara Lazar (@taralazar) August 28, 2019

Bear tested: Bear approved!

— Jon Enge (@MarsRisingFilms) August 28, 2019

Regardless of the form they take, focus groups are still a critical part of the product development process. #WednesdayWisdom https://t.co/iOeGRy1eWD

— J. Graeme Noseworthy 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 (@graemeknows) August 28, 2019

Anzer honey is the best, gourmets show... Highly recommended😀 https://t.co/WkDDy5GbDY

— Turkish Consulate Los Angeles (@TRConsuLA) August 21, 2019

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