This summer, celebrity chef, Priyanka Naik visited BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz in Germany in order to make a very special treat for the Dream Team of bears who took home the March Napness 2024 championship.  

Chef Priyanka worked with our Müritz kitchen staff to prepare a BEAR-y Tartare dessert for all the bears who call Müritz home. Featuring fresh fruit such as watermelon, berries, and a honey orange dressing, with walnuts and raisins on top, Chef Priyanka created this recipe especially for our bears with their favorite flavors in mind.  

All the bears loved the sweet treat! Michal particularly appreciated the tartare, gobbling it up in no time. Sisters Dasha and Lelya, who were rescued from Ukraine and share an enclosure at Müritz, each enjoyed their own BEAR-y tartare. Dasha dove right in, eating all her own and a bit of her sister’s, but luckily, Lelya didn’t seem to mind sharing.  Watch Chef Priyanka make the recipe and feed it to the bears at Müritz!

After the bears received their dessert, Priyanka also made a version for humans, which the hardworking staff at Müritz was able to enjoy. Our animal caretakers are the true unsung heroes of FOUR PAWS, and we were delighted to celebrate their hard work for our animals. 

In addition to cooking for our team, Chef Priyanka was also able to tour our sanctuary, and she even shadowed one of our animal caretakers for an afternoon. Check out the behind-the-scenes video where Priyanka spends the day with caretakers Anna and Raphaël to prepare enrichment for some of the bears.

FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need, and protects them. Our vision is a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding.

The goal of the FOUR PAWS #SaveTheSaddestBears campaign is to end the inappropriate keeping of brown bears in Europe and to contribute to the end of bile bear farming in Vietnam, whereby we focus on legislative advocacy, rescues and housing of bears in the FOUR PAWS BEAR SANCTUARIES and partner projects.  

FOUR PAWS, furthermore, aims to cooperate with authorities in order to create long-term solutions – legal foundations and general standards for the species-appropriate keeping of bears. With this strategy, FOUR PAWS has so far succeeded in putting an end to the keeping of dancing bears in Bulgaria and Serbia, the illegal keeping of restaurant bears in Kosovo and Albania, and the illegal private keeping of bears in Poland.

You can read more about our global mission to #SaveTheSaddestBears here. 

BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz offers bears that are unable to be returned to the wild, a natural habitat in which they can fulfill their urge to wander, withdraw into their own space, dig out dens and go into a state of hibernation. When they arrive at the sanctuary, they first receive medical care. If they are ready, they are slowly accustomed to their new surroundings. Behavioral and environmental enrichment keeps the bears occupied and encourages bears coming out of captivity to behave naturally again. The bears are encouraged to socialize in order to further reduce behavioral disorders. After being fully acclimated, our bears can enjoy their new-found freedom and engage in their own unique behaviors at last.

The entire visitors center, including the shop, bistro and reception is completely barrier-free. Visitors can follow a designated route through the sanctuary which is broad and as wheelchair-friendly as possible (best come with a companion though). Dogs are welcome on a leash but can also enjoy playing in the big, fenced-in playground. There are many different guided tours and events for children and adults available. We can also tailor experiences for individual groups, families, and school or kindergarten classes. Learn more on BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz's website. 

March Napness is an annual bracket style contest, now in it's second year, where our supports can guess which rescued bear from FOUR PAWS' Bear Sanctuaries will sleep the longest! Based off March Madness, the college basketball bracket tournament which celebrates human athletes, we want to celebrate our bear athletes: The masters of sleep!

BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz has won the competition in both 2023 and 2024, with championship hibernation seasons from bears Mascha and Dushi. To celebrate the "Dream Team" at Müritz, FOUR PAWS is bringing Chef Priyanka Naik to the sanctuary to prepare a special BEAR-y Tartare for all the bears! 

Priyanka Naik is a self-taught vegan & sustainable chef, Food Network champion, Quibi Dishmantled winner, TV host, author of THE MODERN TIFFIN, columnist for The Washington Post ‘Ecokitchen’ and world traveler. She cooks globally-inspired Indian cuisine and loves travel, animals, cars and eco-friendly living.

Priyanka is first-generation, Indian American, raised on Staten Island, New York, and has two elder sisters. Her Indian heritage is very important to her cooking style and lifestyle, so much so that she even learned her native language of Kannada before English and weaves in Indian elements throughout all of her original vegan cooking. She attributes her devotion to her Indian roots and passion for Indian food to her loving and supportive parents.

FOUR PAWS USA and Chef Priyanka will be visiting BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz this summer to prepare the BEAR-y Tartare in person! Be sure to follow our social media for all the latest updates during the trip!

INGREDIENTS: 
 
1 heaping cup diced watermelon 
 
1 heaping cup diced cantaloupe 
 
6 oz blackberries sliced in half 
 
2 red beets cooked, peeled and diced 
 
1 tangerine 
 
1 tsp fresh lemon zest 
 
3-4 tbsp honey of choice 
 
2 tbsp unsalted walnuts chopped 
 
1 tbsp raisins chopped 
 
Salad greens of choice for serving 
 
DIRECTIONS: 
 
1. In a small bowl, slice the tangerine and squeeze all of the juice from 1 whole tangerine into the bowl. Add in the fresh lemon zest and honey. Whisk until combined. Set aside. 
 
2. In a large bowl, add in the watermelon, cantaloupe, beets and blackberries. Pour in the dressing and lightly toss until coated. 
 
3. Place salad greens on your serving dish. Place on a large circle cookie mold. Begin gently layering in your fruits - I like to start with the watermelon as the bottom layer, cantaloupe as the middle layer, red beets as the third layer. Make sure it's packed tight into the mold and then carefully lift up the mold. Then layer on the blackberries. Drizzle on a spoonful of dressing from the bowl. Garnish with walnuts and raisins. Serve right away and enjoy! 
 
BONUS! Try the below alongside this tasty recipe for an extra flavor boost. 
 
- Turmeric Whip: In a chilled mixing bowl, whip aquafaba (chickpea water from a can) on high speed with 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt until stiff peaks (about 5-10 minutes). 
 
- Roasted Carrots: In a bowl, toss baby carrots together with 1 tbsp of light olive oil, pinch of kosher salt, black pepper and 1/2 tsp of cumin, smoked paprika and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder. Air-fry or roast at 375 for 15 minutes until fork tender. Serve with turmeric whip."