We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Social-Distance Style!

It’s wonderful to see our communities come together with a spirit that shows true-blue resilience and Aussie good humour. With the kids off school at the moment, and many parents at home too, cabin-fever and boredom can all too easily become a reality. Fear not, your local community has found a way to brighten up your day. Let’s go on a bear hunt!

Note: Please stay within 50kms your own neighbourhood.

Why we’re going on a bear hunt

• It’s fun! Teddy bears can always make you smile, and some of these bears might be doing crazy things to make you laugh!
• It’s challenging. Some bears will be very easy to spot, others might be peeping over a fence, or waving from behind a curtain. This makes a bear hunt great for kids of different ages and abilities
• It’s exercise. Public playgrounds are a no-go right now, but walking, bike riding, and scootering are all good ways to burn off some energy. And spotting bears along the way adds that much-needed dash of excitement!
• It’s friendly. You might get to see neighbours you’ve never met before waving from gardens and balconies. Future friends in the making!
• It’s educational. See the ideas below for primary school kids.

Add an extra element to your bear hunting game

Bear Hunt Bingo

You can make your bear hunt a little more challenging by making a list of different things to look for on your bear hunt. Suggestions include brown bear, panda, rainbow bear, GIANT bear, bear wearing clothes, bear doing tricks, bear drawings, and ‘bears’ that aren’t bears! You might also see lots of rainbows! Add any more alternatives you can think of, but don’t expect to find them all on your first walk. More bears are being added to the hunt every day, and this is a great opportunity to explore streets in your local community that you’ve never been down before. This game is the looong game!

Throw in some learning

There are ways you can fit a bit of learning into your bear hunt for school-aged children. Try these ideas:

• Print off your local area of the map and grab a compass (there’s probably one on your smartphone). Ask your child to plot a route and then direct your walk using words like “head north” and “second street on the right”. They’ll learn map reading skills and a little geography
• Make a tally chart of different kinds of bears, or the places they were found (inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs, balcony etc), then plot graphs and charts when you get home. Which colour bear did you see most often? Did most houses have one bear on display, or three? Were more bears inside the house, or in a tree? etc.
• Can your child draw a picture of their favourite bear from their walk?
• Ask your child to write a story imagining what their favourite bear was doing. If the bear was sitting on a balcony, was he playing at sailing on a voyage? If the bear was climbing over a fence, was he on a rescue mission?

Where to find bears near you

This map is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good start. Zoom in on your local area and start exploring. We haven’t dropped pins on the exact location – that would make it too easy – but somewhere on that street you’ll find what you are looking for. And if there are currently no pins near you, go on a hunt anyway – you’re sure to find some bears we’ve missed!

If you know of any bears we can add, let us know. We’ll update as many and as often as we can, so keep checking back to find more in your local area. Over 1000 STREETS added so far!

Happy hunting! 🧸

PS. To ADD your address to our map, please email with a photo to: Editor@FamiliesMagazine.com.au 

Reminder; don’t touch the bears you see, just snap a pic or wave hello.

Click this link to open up the full map!