Having spent their entire lives kept in small cages, bears Anya and Frankie are now adjusting to very different lives. We rescued the two brown bears and moved them to our BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr in the Ukraine early this month.  

It is likely both bears have never known an existence outside of a cage. Both have been moved around various facilities during their short lives. For bear Anya, her live started when she was privately kept before being moved to the rundown Pokrovsk Zoo near the town of Donetsk. For bear Frankie, he had a similarly tough start to life, born in a Ukrainian zoo where he most likely faced a life of daily performances. After that, he was moved to Pokrovsk Zoo where he met Anya.

The conditions at Pokrovsk Zoo were so bad that both bears were confiscated by the authorities. They were transferred to a temporary shelter early last year, where they've been waiting until our team was able to rescue them. The two bears, ages 5 and 6, then began their over 745 mile journey to their new lives at BEAR SANCTUARY Domazhyr.

When they arrived at the sanctuary, they had to spend 48 hours in the bear house before being released into their outdoor enclosure. As expected, the bears were rather cautious to step outside into the enclosure. This was a totally new experience for them! However, it was not so long before they discovered their pool and both of them spent over an hour enjoying their new found freedom! The specialized animal keepers have not seen any stereotypical behavior in the bears as of yet, which is surprising after their years of suffering and lack of stimulation. Eventually, next spring the bears will move to a large forest enclosure.

Both the bears love to eat everything that is being given to them. As time goes on, it's expected that the bears will show more preference in their meals and develop favorite foods! Please help us to support their new beginnings.