Sirko and Ruta have been known to FOUR PAWS for some time. The male and female bears, had lived their whole existence inside a barren concrete enclosure at a hotel and restaurant in Skole, Ukraine. FOUR PAWS has been fighting for years to close down the keeping facility and already rescued bears Lelya, Dasha, Frol and Frosia from that location and has given them a new life at our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr, where they experienced for the first time what a proper bear life can look like.

However, we were not allowed to rescue Sirko and Ruta, and with heavy hearts, we had to leave them there whilst we plan and relentlessly fight for the chance to rescue them. Well, after many discussions, agreements and hope... we could finally return to Skole and give Sirko and Ruta a new life at our sanctuary! But Sirko and Ruta weren’t the only bears there anymore, we were surprised to hear that Ruta gave birth to a cub in January 2021!

Finally, on the 22nd of June 2021, we managed to rescue them and bring them to our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr. The poor little cub, named Andor, was removed from his parents at a young age and hand-reared. Because of this, the cub has to remain separated from his parents, as it would be very risky and dangerous to re-introduce them at this stage.

According to our vet Marc Gölkel, all bears are in good condition, but Sirko and Ruta have dental problems which will be treated once they have adjusted to their new surroundings. Sirko will also then be neutered to prevent the two from breeding again. Cub Andor seems to be healthy, and was microchipped, vaccinated, and dewormed.

After only a couple of weeks at the sanctuary, all three bears have settled in wonderfully! Each of them loves swimming and climbing the structures in their enclosures.

They are joyful and compensating already the sad days with the happy ones. They all have great appetites and some of their favourite treats so far are peanuts, peaches, strawberries and cherries.  

Just a few weeks after their arrival, three cubs were transferred from another facility after their rescue from a petting zoo in Ukraine. With such an opportunity to be had, the on-site team have been working hard to introduce Andor to some new friends – and so far, so good. Firstly, he was introduced to Jenny, the most confident of the trio. Although both cubs were shy at first, it wasn’t long before they were comfortable with each other! Next, all four spent some time together, stay tuned for more updates soon!