site.btaThree Young Orphaned Bears Go Back into the Wild

Three young orphaned bears rescued last year were returned into the wild, the Four Paws Foundation said on Tuesday. Nikola, Misho and Aneta had been taken away from their natural habitats to receive necessary care in specialized facilities in Bulgaria and abroad, and now they are back out.

The parentless cubs got a chance for a new life thanks to the partnership of the Ministry of Environment and Water, environmental watchdog WWF, Four Paws, and the Arcturos Foundation of Greece. Caretaker Minister of Environment and Water Petar Dimitrov joined the rescue effort.

The bears were released at a carefully chosen spot in a habitat of brown bears in the Mt Rila National Park (Southwestern Bulgaria). They were taken there in special cages. Their return into the wild became possible after experts at the Arcturos rehabilitation centre decided that the animals had grown old enough and had reached the necessary weight to ensure they do not have natural predators of their own.

The three animals wear GPS tracker necklaces to help ensure that they and any people who may happen to be around them are safe. The tracking is carried out in real time by experts of the Mt Rila National Park and WWF.

One of the cubs, Nikola, then five months old, was rescued by WWF last July from the yard of a weekend house in Mt Vitosha, on the outskirts of Sofia. The Belitsa Bear Sanctuary took care of him. The other two bears, Aneta and Misho, were rescued in October after they approached an animal feeder near the town of Elin Pelin, Sofia Region.