Videos of our BEars
Bear Martha is finally rescued!
From a small cage to safety: all supporters who made Martha's rescue possible. This is for you. Watch and enjoy. Martha is finally able to enjoy her species-appropriate surroundings at our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr! After years of suffering in a small, filthy cage, she can now finally experience what it feels like to walk on grass, bathe and simply rediscover and act out her natural instincts after a life in imprisonment. Find out more!
Only about two weeks since their arrival at our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr and look at them now!
This is what you need to see today! Sirko, Ruta and Andor are settled in nicely at their new home and love swimming and climbing the structures. They are joyful and compensating already the sad days with the happy ones. They all have great appetite and some of their favourite treats so far are peanuts, peaches, strawberries and cherries. According to the veterinary check performed on the day of their transfer, Sirko and Ruta will need an additional dental check, which will be organized in the coming weeks. We will keep you updated on their progress! Meet the bears Sirko, Ruta and Andor!
Jenny, Toby and Moris have welcomed their new friend Andor into their troublesome gang!
As the socialization of Jenny and Andor was going well at our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, their caretakers decided to introduce all of them. So far it is going very positively! They are together most of the day now and are learning how to live with one another. Moris is the one who usually invites Andor to their games and Andor’s shyness is fading slowly. He is not withdrawn from them anymore but enjoys their fun games: jumping in the pool, chasing one another, rolling on the grass … their list of fun games is a long one but these are the main ones currently. Find out more!
Andor and Jenny are getting to know each other!
These two cuties are becoming friends slowly but surely at our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. Their caretakers are observing the bears' behaviour carefully as they get together on a daily basis. Currently, they are spending about an hour in the same enclosure, and both are a bit shy! It came as a surprise for the onsite team as Jenny has been very confident with Moris and Toby. But as Andor is a new friend to her, she is a bit reserved with him. The good thing is that the two bears are not aggressive towards each other, and are quite shy at this stage of socialising, which is normal. The onsite team will continue with this routine until Andor becomes more confident, and then introduce him to Moris and Toby too.
#HibernationFacts
Bears are majestic creatures who adapt incredibly well to their environments. After a phase of rehabilitation at our sanctuaries, most of our bears manage to successfully pass the coldest months of the year in hibernation.
The start of a new life for Frol and Frosia
Their life before the rescue meant sitting in front of the bars of a dark cage in the Lviv Region, in Ukraine. Frol and Frosia were kept as an “attraction” for customers at a closed restaurant. They lived in there since they were born and had nothing but a concrete floor with no enrichment or joy in their everyday lives. Now, after about a month since their arrival at the sanctuary, we are happy to say that both bears are doing really good. Every day, Frol and Frosia are learning something new and their caretakers are always there to monitor them closely until they adapt completely to their new life. Read more about their rescue!
Fighting bear Kvitka rescued from Ukrainian hunting station
For years, Kvitka was kept in a tiny cage, used for training hunting dogs. On 27 June 2018 FOUR PAWS could finally rescue her and bring her to BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, where Kvitka could start a new life. Watch her journey!
FOUR PAWS rescues presumably former baiting bear in Ukraine
Tyson originates from the wild, where he was taken after his mother has been killed by poachers. Ever since then, the brown bear vegetated in a way too tiny cage on a Ukrainian hunting farm. We assume that he was not only kept in inapropriate circumstances but also tortured as a baiting bear - although bear baiting is already prohibited and therefore illegal in Ukraine. Fortunately, Tyson's suffering has ended today. We have freed him from his cage and are now on our way to our newly constructed BEAR SANCTUARY Domazyhr, where Tyson will finally start into a species-appropriate life.
A new beginning for bear POTAP in BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr
his is Potap, a nine-year-old male bear who was born in a zoo in Ukraine in 2008. After Potap was sold he was kept in a tiny cage. The ceiling was so low he could hardly stand upright, positioned near a restaurant in order to “attract” visitors. When the owner of the restaurant had to give up his business, Potap was only fed provisionally by local activists.. But now Potap is safe! We rescued him last week and brought him to our brand new BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr! Here Potap can stay for the rest of his life! The transfer went very well despite Potap’s poor condition that has resulted from his neglect. We are happy as he is now in the best possible hands and will be well taken care of by our animal care-takers in Domazhyr.
