Three Baby Bears Rescued near Dospat are Now Safe and Get 24-Hour Care

Three baby bears were rescued by a joint teams of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Environment and Waters, Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Waters in the city of Smolyan and the Four Paws Foundation on Saturday, 21^st of April. The lost baby bears were found near a road, in the area of the Rhodopian village of Barutin and Dospat Dam, South Bulgaria. The bears are at a very tender age and were without their mother, which necessitated their urgent accommodation in the Dancing Bears Park near Belitsa.

Yesterday the baby bears were examined by a vet.

According to Dimitar Ivanov, head of the rescue centre managed by “Four Paws” and the Bridget Bardo Foundation, the three bears are under great distress because of their premature separation from the mother.

"They were alone for nearly 24 hours, haven’t had any food or liquids during that time. Our experience shows that in more than 90% of the cases of found bears in the wild, the mother was chased or shot by poachers. Raising orphaned bears by humans is extremely difficult, but we will do our best to save them”, he said.

The three bears are about three months old and still suckle. The Four Paws specialists have begun feeding them with goat milk, which is closest to the bears’ milk, adding vitamins to it. Two of the bears are male and one is female. The biggest of the three is the female bear weighing over 3 kg. The caretakers and doctors in the Dancing Bears Park are mostly concerned for the smallest baby bear weighing less than 2 kg.

The bears get 24-hour care by the park team. It is expected that within two weeks when their general condition gets better, they will be placed in a rescue centre in Greece, which specializes in raising orphaned bears and preparing them for wildlife.

In order to reduce the stress on the bear cubs and to ensure their successful cultivation and adaptation to wildlife, their contact with people will be reduced to minimum. Until they leave for Greece, they will be kept in a quarantine room and no visitors and journalists will be allowed access to them.