“Kosovo 🇽🇰 ~Bear Sanctuary in Pristina”
All the bears here were once kept in tiny cages as restaurant mascots, so although they’re hardly out free in the wilderness, the spacious, semiwooded enclosures of today are so much better than the conditions they were once kept in.
What a great stop, to see beautiful Brown Bears, which are indigenous to the Balkans Peninsula. We weren’t sure if the sanctuary would be open, but it was; masked required inside, but not outside. Plenty of locals were visiting as well. There was even a two-year old birthday party going on in the park-like setting near the restaurant.
In 2010, following a rising number of protests, Kosovo made it illegal to keep bears, privately. During the following four years, the authorities, in cooperation with Four Paws, confiscated and transferred all former restaurant bears to the Bear Sanctuary Prishtina.
The Bear Sanctuary Prishtina is now home to 20 rescue bears. Some of the furry residents were transferred from neighbouring Albania, where many bears are still being kept in appalling conditions today.
The good news is, these bears have been rescued from a less than desirable life in captivity. They are well cared for and live in a beautiful sanctuary, where they get to be bears. Some were stolen from the wild as cubs, so they may not know how to be bears, but they are free and protected, now.
Some of the bears still suffer from behavioural disorders, such as compulsively pacing back and forth. This behaviour derives from their previous lives where they were not able to roam freely or have any space in their small cages. It is good to learned that rehabilitation efforts have considerably reduced this kind of behaviours.
We were happy to visit and pay to see the bears. All for a good cause, to rescue more of them.
Since these bears were taken from their mothers, in the wild, they can never live in the wild again, as they do not have the ability to survive, without human assistance. They are now free and no longer mistreated, so its the best life they can have
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
It breaks my heart to hear of these beauties being caged – what a blessing that they are now safe and living their best lives! ❤️
I agree! We did witness the pacing bear. He looked very old and huge, and I think he was a bit blind. Poor things never learned how to be a bear. At least they are free and are well cared for, now. Four Paws work continues. Thank God for organizations that are real!
The bears are so cute, great photos
Thank you. How can people be so cruel to such precious animals? Ever! It’s hard to know the stories, but Four Paws does great work, and will continue.