Three zoo bears were illegally released in the wild in Serbia in 2002 and one of them was a three-legged bear. This bear had attacked a farmer, who was able to catch the bear. Bears in Mind and Serbian NGO ‘ARKA’ were able to move the bear to the bear shelter in Banostor, Novi Sad. For the other two bears help came too late; hunters had already killed them.
The idea was to bring the 3-legged bear, named Elvis, to the Bear Forest in The Netherlands. In the end, Bears in Mind did not succeed in this. Obtaining the certificates of ownership and export permission (CITES) from Serbia proved impossible. To improve the welfare of Elvis and the other bears in the Banostor bear shelter, Bears in Mind financed the extension of the shelter. An outdoor enclosure was developed with a nice pond for the bears to swim in.
Elvis spent a happy time there, until he died in 2011.
How it all started… The beginning of the idea and need to do something substantial for captive bears in Europe goes back more than 30 years. In 1990, Ouwehand Zoo in the Netherlands was asked by the Directorate-General (European Commission) to draw up a plan to accommodate several captive (ex-dancing) bears from Greece. Those would be confiscated following a change in legislation. The use of dancing bears as street entertainment was not only banned in Greece, but also in Turkey. In the years that followed (more than 200 bears needed to be rehomed), two large bear sanctuaries were built in the abovementioned countries and dozens of bears were saved under the LiBearty campaign set up by then WSPA and for Greece it was mainly ARCTUROS liberating dancing bears and providing them a new home.
Mackenzie in his cage in Bosnia HerzegovinaMackenzie being fed by Dutch UN soldiers
More bears needed a new home (amongst them three blind dancing bears from Turkey) and following the initial request by the EC, Ouwehand Zoo was able to finally answer this request with the start of the development of the Bear Forest, a sanctuary for mistreated European brown bears. A separate foundation was created to manage this bear sanctuary, and the International Bear Foundation was born when phase one was finished of this special project in April 1993. Two brown bears already in Ouwehand Zoo, moved in first: Geert & Trudy. Followed by the rescue of bears Mackenzie & Nelly from former Yugoslavia and the rescue of lonely bear Jo from a bear pit in Maastricht – The Netherlands. The three Turkish blind bears Bora, Koröglû & Fiona were rescued and introduced into their new forever homes during autumn of 1993. Many more bears would follow suit…
BoraKoröglûFiona
In the years since then, the foundation has had multiple names, but ever since 2016 they have been operating under the name ‘Bears in Mind’. Bears in Mind is a valued member of and operates within several network organizations like the IUCN (World Conservation Union), EAZA (European Association of Zoos & Aquaria), EARS (European Alliance of Rescue Centers & Sanctuaries) and the IBA (International Association for Bear Research & Management).
The Bear Forest sanctuary For 30 years now, the sanctuary for bears has been able to offer peaceful asylum to 34 brown bears in total. From circuses, private collections, theaters, film industry, road-side zoos to bears that were kept next to a restaurant or petrol station. Unfortunately, captive bears are found under many horrific and often shameful conditions. As of November 2024, 7 bears inhabit the Bear Forest: two from a former hunting farm in Bulgaria, two from war-torn Ukraine where they were kept next to a restaurant and a small children’s zoo until their rescue, one bear from a closed-down zoo in Georgia, one bear from private ownership in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one was from Sweden where she was kept as playing companion for a polar bear cub found on the sea ice and eventually both of them ended up in Ouwehand Zoo.
The bears live together with a small pack of four wolves. These animals are kept together in this mixed-species environment as a way of mimicking their natural environment. The interaction between wolves and bears stimulates the natural behavior of both species, beneficial for all. The wolves are mostly given meat, whereas the bears only eat little amounts of meat as part of their very diverse seasonal diet, based on what they would find in the wild. Bears in Mind introduced the Natural Feeding Program in 1999 and in the first year there was already a major difference noticeable in the behaviour of the bears, with many of them going into hibernation for the very first time! This was a clear sign that the natural behaviour of these traumatized animals could be restored if the right ‘tools’ and care was offered.
The sanctuary is 20,000m2 in size, has a large pool for the bears to drink/swim/cool down and play in, with a waterfall. It is part of the surrounding natural forest which borders the zoo and it has 11 artificial dens and two small wooden shacks for the bears to shelter from the weather or hibernate in. Before entering the Bear Forest, visitors are walking through ‘Karpatica’, a series of simulated Romanian-style houses with informative and interactive educational material for young and old. About the biology and ecology of bears in general, threats to bears and their habitat, and of course about Bears in Mind and their projects around the globe.
Since The Bear Forest is part of the general walking route through Ouwehand Zoo, almost one million visitors a year can view the bears and learn about them. This poses a huge opportunity to Bears in Mind, to try and reach these visitors and make them part of their conservation mission: to create a better world where bears and people can coexist in.
When bears received a protected status in 1993 and could no longer be hunted, the bears in Kormisosh did not have a ‘purpose’ anymore. They received no care and were ‘forgotten’ and left to die a miserable death. Since the mid 90s, the situation indeed only got worse and the bears that still lived in the former hunting station were literally rotting away.
Bears in Mind and her Bulgarian partner Balkani Wilidlife Society (BWS) worked closely with the responsible Bulgarian government to end this horrible suffering once and for all. The first priority was to give these bears basic medical care and to make sure they received proper food on a daily basis. In addition, a number of animal keepers were trained to take care of the bears. In close cooperation with the Bulgarian government and local NGOs, Bears in Mind found suitable, permanent homes for all the 14 remaining bears from Kormisosh. In May 2015 the two last bears – Keta and Mincho – were relocated to the Bear Forest in Rhenen. Kormisosh is no more!
Bear Alert is developed by the coalition of Bears in Mind and Foundation for Bears to keep track of the many captive bears, often living under horrible conditions, in order to help as many individuals as possible. Over time, Bears in Mind and Foundation for Bears have gathered information on more than 800 of these bears. Some of them have already been rescued from their miserable existence and brought to a sanctuary or zoo where proper care and space could be offered. Other bears unfortunately died before we could we do anything. And some of them still await a better life…
The individual reports about bears will be processed into a database. Short term solutions will be considered next. In most cases the foundation’s staff will consult with their local partner NGO and / or with the owner of the animal to give advise on husbandry, food and water. Simple enrichment methods for the cages are used such as leafy tree branches or a play object. These methods are often cheap and easy to create and make the life of the bear somewhat more pleasant. In other cases, if legally possible, bears will be confiscated and relocated to a better facility.
The coalition launched Bear Alert as a new platform in 2024. More easy to use on a smartphone, with more and better direct sharing possibilities, so we can help these captive bears in a more efficient way.
Semperviva is a Bulgarian organization which started to breed livestock uarding dogs again. Every year, one or two litters of puppies are raised. When the puppies are old enough they are taken (for free) to pre-selected shepherds, who sign an agreement confirming their understanding of how to take care of the dogs. The dogs need to work in pairs and very often a younger pup is trained by an adult dog. With its follow-up programme Semperviva checks on the dogs twice a year until they are confident that the dogs behaviour is appropriate. Bears in Mind funded the breeding project between 2002-2011.
In the old days, the Karakachan dog breed was used specially to protect flocks of sheep. The Semperviva programme makes it possible for shepherds to obtain a puppy and receive training in how to care for the dogs and use them to protect their livestock. Every year, a dozen puppies were placed in the eastern part of the Rhodopy mountains in Bulgaria. Furthermore, the number of attacks by bears and wolves before and after the introduction of the dogs are compared. Over the years, it has been proven that flocks accompanied by these dogs have suffered substantially less losses to large carnivores.
A Bears in Mind-funded research study between 2010-2013 conducted by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) focused mainly on Female Core Areas. These are areas inhabited by female bears, often with their offspring. Therefore, it is important to carefully protect these areas. More in-depth knowledge will help the government to implement stricter and more specific conservation measures. In the long run, these measures will contribute to the survival of bears in Iran. A national Brown Bear Management Plan will be formulated based on the research results.
Protecting the bears This research will lead to the creation of a topical database containing numbers, distribution and information about the genetic relationship among brown bears. This data will be used in training sessions and workshops for the Iranian authorities, responsible for protecting the bears and their habitat. This knowledge will enable them to better address the problem of poaching.
Results All gathered data combined and analyzed, it shows us that brown bears prefer habitats far from human settlements and tend to prefer habitats with higher slope and elevation. As a result, more than 13% of Lorestan territory is considered to be suitable for the species. However, official protection has been established within no more than 27.7 % of the species suitable areas. These findings highlight further importance of enhancing bear conservation across the Province and probably, the entire Zagros region through identification of high priority areas, particularly in southern province.
Finally, management implications have been discussed and shared with local authorities. All the data were also shared with Lorestan Department of Environment so they can promote monitoring plans.
In the spring of 2009, three orphaned Asiatic black bears were taken to a small animal sanctuary in Far East Russia. The bears, one female and her two brothers, have been part of an intensive rehabilitation programme between 2009 and 2011. They were prepared for a life in the wild. During this period the three bears have been ‘guided’ around the woods by two researchers. During these sessions, the guides were wearing camouflage clothing and they did not speak. By means of photographs, sound and image recordings, the researchers have been able to follow the development of the bears in detail.
In 2010, the bears were released into the wild. Just before their release, the two males weighed between 20 and 23 kilos, while the female weighed around 8 kilos. All three bears are wearing radiocollars with a transmitter, enabling the researchers to keep track on the bears. In the forest, a chance meeting with a Siberian tiger or an adult bear is very likely.In the time since their release, the bear were followed closely and did well. After two years, the collars automatically fell off.
The project has proven to be a great success and a lot of vital information about adolescent rehabilitated bears has been gathered and shared.
There is much discussion about whether rehabilitated bears are likely to become problem bears. Therefore, data collected in this project is of paramount importance to this discussion. Of course we would prefer to be able to release orphaned bears in the wild again, rather than putting them in captivity for the rest of their lives. However, we must be absolutely certain that the rehabilitation process has no negative impact on their natural behaviour, increasing the chances of the released bear becoming a ‘problem bear’.
Between 2008 and 2013, a total of 19 bears have been equipped with GPS/GSM collars in order to assess the suitability of rehabilitated bears for reintroduction in the natural habitats. Ten of these bears were reared in the Romanian Rehabilitation Center (developed by Bear Again) and nine were wild caught individuals of two behavior categories: (1) wild behaving juveniles and (2) individuals with different degrees of habituation to anthropogenic food sources. The project revealed and proved that reintroduction of the rehabilitated bears into the wild is successful and without any threatening impact on the wild population. The survival rate of the rehabilitated tracked bears was around 50% (it is 55% considering all the rehabilitated bears). This is according with the survival rate of juvenile wild bears in the literature. One of the most important regulating factors can be considered the infanticide killing by adult male bears. An important threat is poaching.
Monitoring the bears and collar results is still ongoing.
2020 onwards One of the basics of the rehabilitation technique is keeping the cubs in a system of several enclosures that offer 100% natural habitat. In this environment, the bears can develop their inborn instincts during a 1 – 1,5 years of rehab period. The facilities are surrounded by electrical fences. The electrical fence on one hand keeps the young bears inside the facilities and keeps intruder adult male bears or other predators out. The main aim of the support offered by Bears in Mind to this project has been directed towards improvement of the total electrical system of the Rehab Centre in order to keep the cubs safe, improve data communication and decrease the risk of depredation by males from outside. Next to that, the development of several remote cableway feeding systems have been sponsored. This allows the team from Bear Again to get the food to the bear cubs without being noticed. This way, these bears won’t associate food with people, an important lession for their future!
Wild Polar bears and Sun bears live in parts of the world where living conditions can be considered extreme. Polar bears lives in Northern Arctic regions, where temperatures are often well below zero Celsius for the majority of the year. The Sun bear lives in tropical Southeast Asia with average temperatures of around 28 degrees above zero and almost 100% humidity. Both bear species are threatened in the wild by climate change and destruction of their habitat.
Polar bears and Sun bears are kept in many zoos around the world. Bears in captivity are exposed to different outside temperatures than they are ‘build for’ and used to all year round in the wild. In captivity, the upper temperature limit of Polar bears and the lower temperature limit of Sun bears are often exceeded. Until now, the effects of this on the species’ metabolisms have hardly been investigated.
This study by the University of Köln, funded by Bears in Mind between 2010-2012, looked into which behavioural and autonomic mechanisms for thermoregulation are available for the respective species, to examine to which degree behavioural regulation complement physiological mechanisms to minimise energy expenditure, and to determine the range of the thermoneutral zone for the respective species. The study took place in several European zoos during summer and winter conditions.
This project titled “Brown bear conservation and research program in a model area in Romania” is one of the longest continual projects supported by Bears in Mind, started in 2006. It has many topics, focusing on research on the bear population and conservation of bears in the Eastern Carpathians in Romania,with theaim to prevent bear-human conflicts. Damages caused by bears to livestock and crops are closely monitored. Research on denning behaviour and locations, knowledge about bear home ranges, movement and activity patterns, habitat use and food searching behaviour of the bears, is also carried out. Over the years, many bears have been fitted with radio collars to monitor their behaviour and gather as much data as possible.
Together with the help of local farmers, electric fences surrounding orchards and beehives are tested and placed. Milvus participates in public discussions on bears, organizes educational projects in schools, field excursions and develops educational material. They are mitigating plans for a new highway through prime bear habitat and have done extensive research on the impact on the population. Additionally, every year Milvus receives dozens of calls about orphaned (sometimes injured) bear cubs. After treatment by Vets4Wild (partner of Milvus), the cubs are sent to the rehabilitation centre run by Bear Again.
Improving the social acceptance of the species Since 2018, Bears in Mind provides funding for a campaign to improve the acceptance of bears in Romania. Through a ten-episode mini-series, Milvus aimes to spread correct and factual information on bears, to try to counterbalance the omnipresent negative rhetoric (and frequent misinformation) in the Hungarian and Romanian massmedia. Each episode was realized in both Hungarian and Romanian languages, with both versions having English subtitles (these can be switched on in YouTube, CC button for Episode 1, and are embedded in each subsequent episode). Each episode was shared on Milvus Group’s own Facebook page, on YouTube, as well as on the Milvus Group webpage. For the shares on our Facebook page, we also had funding to advertise each episode. Ten episodes have been produced:
