JULY 23, 2025 – After 30 hours traveling a nearly 2,500 miles journey, a nearly blind brown bear named Dunbar arrived at an Austrian bear sanctuary.

FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organization, first encountered a 21-year-old bear during a veterinary mission in 2023. FOUR PAWS treated 22 captive bears in Azerbaijan and Dunbar was one of the bears examined. It was soon clear to the team that he was suffering from severe visual impairment. His right eye showed severe clouding of the lens and chronic inflammatory processes. Due to the irreversible nature of this condition and the potential pain it could cause, the FOUR PAWS wildlife veterinarians had to remove his right eye along with three broken canine teeth. His left eye only has limited vision due to an injury.

Dunbar was found disorientated roaming the streets of a village in Azerbaijan in 2020. No one knows where he is from, but it seems as if he lived in captivity before. The Ministry was able to capture him and brought him to the state-run rescue facility for bears. Unfortunately, Dunbar had a lot of health issues, which led to the bad teeth, severe cataract and irreversible and painful inflammation.

The transfer of Dunbar from Azerbaijan to Austria was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Taking months of planning by an expert FOUR PAWS team, Dunbar traveled nearly 30 hours by land and air to Austria. After his arrival, he immediately walked out of his transport crate and started exploring the new environment. He ate food prepared by the dedicated team, dug through the natural ground of his adaptation enclosure, and rested after his long journey.

Dunbar's extreme visual limitations led to the decision to move him to BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach, one of seven FOUR PAWS bear sanctuaries, for further treatment and care. Located in the northern region of Austria known for its vast forests, the sanctuary provides intensive care to elderly bears and those with special needs. It offers space tailored to the needs of each bear to express their natural behaviors, like bathing, digging, roaming, climbing and retiring in caves, either to hide, snooze, or hibernate in the winter.

“Being nearly completely blind can make everyday situations more stressful for Dunbar. Because of this, it is essential for us as a sanctuary to adapt our work to his pace and needs. To understand his character, likes and dislikes, our dedicated caretakers will conduct checks multiple times a day, prepare a variety of enrichments for him to explore and play with, and have regular trust building exercises. All these steps should help Dunbar feel safe and confident in his new environment,” said Daan Beemsterboer, Animal caretaker at BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach.

FOUR PAWS helps brings an end to the suffering of the world’s saddest bears left in captivity through the #savethesaddestbears initiative takes place all over the world. In Europe, the team rescues bears from terrible keeping conditions under private ownership, tourism, and bear baiting. Most of these bears have lived in concrete cages their whole lives or have been forced to perform in unnatural ways, such as dancing for entertainment or being forced to drink beer. FOUR PAWS advocates for bears on a legislative level, helping to make cruel practices illegal, while operating six bear sanctuaries in the countries of Bulgaria, Austria, Kosovo, Ukraine, Switzerland, and Germany.