What are Bear Sanctuaries?
From Bear Sanctuaries to Fat Bear Week – Saving Brown, Grizzly, Polar & Other Endangered Bears
“We need Bear Sanctuaries!”
Today, we welcome bears into our homes! Not the real ones, of course. Old TV shows like Gentle Ben and The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. Coca Cola polar bears playing cards. New Djungelskog bears. Old teddy bears, beat-up but beloved.
Humans and Bears have a mixed history. Most of it not good. In the time when the giant herbivorous Ice Age Cave Bears lived peacefully in their rocky lairs, Humans — who wanted those caves and a good supply of meat and warm robes — were not their friends. The Cave Bear went extinct.
And yet, in Northern cultures around the world, bears were also an essential part of our mythology.
People of Northern Europe and North America even considered the Bear to be Humankind’s closest blood relative. They told stories of human children raised by wise Mama Bears. And of heroic men and women with mixed Human-Bear blood.
Mostly, bears were our opponents — out there in the great northern forests to be hunted. Some were taken as cubs to be raised as captured entertainment. They still are.
Now, bear populations are under pressure, sometimes to extinction. Even here in Canada, Grizzly and Polar bears are in declining numbers.
But here’s the good news. Bear Sanctuaries!”
From injured or endangered adults to small, helpless cubs found abandoned or orphaned, places of sanctuary are being built by caring humans.
Perhaps the most famous bear sanctuary is Casey Anderson’s Montana Grizzly Encounter, where his companion grizzly Brutus the Bear lived with other rescued bruins.
And here, from guest blogger Marissa Ellis-Snow, is a look at the Bear Sanctuary phenomena:
“Bear Sanctuaries: A Place of Respite for Exploited Animals” Written by Marissa Ellis-Snow
A number of bear sanctuaries around the world have become tranquil places of refuge where any of the eight species of bears — from Brown Bears to Grizzly Bears — that have been rescued from years, and sometimes decades, of cruel abuse suffered whilst in captivity, can finally live their lives freely and safely within a natural forest habitat.
Sanctuary and Respite
These sanctuaries resemble the bears’ natural habitats as closely as possible, and they provide the animals with a secure forest environment, within which they can climb trees, forage for food, swim in natural pools, and even hibernate as they would in their original environment.
Many of the bears who roam these enclosures have tragic past histories: most of the time they have been illegally kept as pets or neglected in zoos.
But some have been rescued from the brutal Asian bear farming industry or the illegal dancing-bear trade.
In fact, it was in response to the dancing-bear trade that the first sanctuaries were set up in the early 1990s. Such as the popular Bears In Mind sanctuary in the Netherlands (see Top 10 Bear Sanctuaries List below).
Since then, numerous bear sanctuaries have been established in countries as diverse as Germany, Pakistan, China, and Turkey, in order to help wildlife groups and governments protect exploited bears.
A Right to Life
Bear sanctuaries recognise that each of these magnificent animals is an individual, whose quality of life truly matters. Many animal activists consider the sanctuaries to be a high point of humanitarianism, demonstrating how humankind finally understands their duty to not only put an end to animal exploitation, but also to atone, as much as we can, for the wrongdoing done to them.
Sanctuaries Around the World
There are numerous bear sanctuaries across the world, from the Brown Bears and Grizzly Bears protected in North America, to the Black Bear havens in Pakistan, the Brown Bear sanctuaries in Greece, and the Malayan Sun Bear’s refuge in Malaysia.
Animal groups in Alaska have responded to the crisis.
Polar bears, grizzlies and brown bears have all been put on protective lists, both in private sanctuaries and government lands.
Annually, Katmai National Park holds their Fat Bear Week. “Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating the success of the bears at Brooks River in Katmai National Park. Every autumn, viewers get to vote on their choice for the fattest bear!” Viewers can go online and vote for their pick of the salmon-eating champion. Fat Bear Week 2021 will be held at the beginning of October, 2021.
Staff members of various sanctuaries around the world have a wide array of responsibilities. They monitor the animals’ health and behaviour; provide comprehensive veterinary treatment and extra food should the animals need it; create a stimulating environment; negotiate with the bears’ owners to ensure their safe handover to the enclosure; and are in charge of maintaining the sanctuary’s conditions to the best possible standards.
Educating for the Future of Bears
A number of bear sanctuaries welcome visits from the public and, in particular, school groups. In Romania, for example, numerous requests resulted in a sanctuary establishing a regular programme for school groups, where teachers, together with designated members of staff, educate the youngsters on the need to protect the Brown Bears and ensure their ongoing welfare.
Conclusion — A Valuable Resource
Bear sanctuaries acknowledge the right these magnificent animals have to a cruelty-free, dignified life and the importance of protecting them from those who would take advantage.
– Thanks, Marissa, for your words of hope.
Live Free, Mon Ami! – Brian Alan Burhoe
Did You Like This Bear Post?
If so, you’ve got to read my popular short story “THE BOY WHO WAS RAISED BY BEARS.” A Traditional Native American Animal Story & Folktale Retold.
Talking bears and human children adopted and raised by loving mama bears are common story themes in both Old and New World oral traditions. Even J R R Tolkien wrote about Beowulf and Bear’s Son Tales in European folklore.
“Loved this beautiful Animal Tale. Perfect!” Free to Read ==> CLICK HERE THE BOY WHO WAS RAISED BY BEARS
===>> CONTACT US! Want to message this author about this page or other interests? Tell me about yourself? You just have to go to CONTACT BRIAN ALAN BURHOE
==>> For more about Casey Anderson’s Montana Grizzly Encounter sanctuary and Brutus, go to Famous Bears in Fact & Fiction – From Gentle Ben to Brutus Bear
A tentative Top Ten Bear Sanctuaries List:
- Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center, Garden City, Idaho
- Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, British Columbia, Canada
- Bear Sanctuary Müritz, Mecklenburg Lake District, Germany
- Bear With Us Centre for Bears – Rehabilitation, Sanctuary, Education, Ontario, Canada
- Bears In Mind, Bear Forest, Ouwehands Dierenpark, Holland
- Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR), Townsend, Tennessee
- Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Banaskantha District, India
- Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Zarnesti, Transylvania, Romania
- Bear Sanctuary Kuterevo, Croatia
- Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Borneo
“Some bears are forced to endure appalling conditions, trapped in cages or used in blood sports like bear baiting. Sadly, bears raised in tiny enclosures and abusive situations can’t adapt to a life back in the wild…
“We build sanctuaries to re-home bears rescued from a lifetime of cruelty. Our bear sanctuaries are forested areas surrounded by tall fences for the rescued bears to have safe lives. The enclosures have large freshwater pools and plenty of trees so the bears can live a relaxed life free from suffering.” – World Animal Protection, who constructed the Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Romania.
Marissa Ellis-Snow is an accomplished wildlife writer, based in the UK. She has written extensively about bears. She says: “If you’re looking for bear watching tours, Naturetrek specialises in expert-led natural history and wildlife tours worldwide to see Brown Bears, Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears and other species. Naturetrek brings 34 years of experience to polar expeditions and tours to other spectacular regions on Earth.”
Learn more about Fat Bear Week at explore.org/fat-bear-week. Donations are accepted.
From Bear Sanctaries to Fat Bear Week 2021: Saving Brown, Grizzly, Polar & Other Endangered Bears.
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