3 Little Bears, Found in Bulgaria, Head to Bear School in Greece
Orphaned cubs cling to one another, rescued just in time
April 26, 2018. Three bear cubs have been rescued from a precarious situation near a village in Southern Bulgaria by FOUR PAWS, the animal welfare organization.
The cubs are of a particularly vulnerable age were the constant care from their mother is vital. The cubs however, were found alone by the local Ministry of Environment and Water, near the village of Barutin in the Rhodope mountains. Due to their fragile state, the bear cubs required urgent care and were moved to FOUR PAWS’s bear sanctuary in Belitsa, Bulgaria.
The three cubs are approximately three months old and are still suckling. FOUR PAWS specialists have started to supply them with goat's milk, a surprisingly compositional match to bears’ milk. Additionally, vitamins are added to the milk to ensure the cubs are adequately nourished. The heaviest bear weighs over 6.5lbs while another weights less than 4.5lbs causing significant concern to the vets at the Belitsa Bear Sanctuary.
The cubs are under 24-hour observation by the team of the park. To reduce the stress of the cubs and ensure their successful preparation and adaptation to the wild, while at Belitsa Bear Sanctuary, their contact with people will be minimized. Outside visitors to this part of the sanctuary will be forbidden.
FOUR PAWS will continue to work towards a long-term solution for these cubs. Once their health is stable, the plan is to transport the cubs to a rescue station in Greece that specializes in young bears and rehabilitation to the wild.
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need, and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding. FOUR PAWS’ sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam, as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.fourpawsusa.org