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Thema: Welfare

Brief history
The famous Český Krumlov castle in the Czech Republic is a well-known UNESCO World Heritage site. One of its characterizing features can be noticed from the outside, as it is decorated with ostentatious coats of arms of the lords of the Rosenberg family, with the sign of the five-petalled rose against a silver background and bears as shield bearers. According to Rosenberg family legend, the Rosenbergs were related to the noble Italian family of Orsini. “Orsa” means bear in Italian, and it is this animal motif that the last rulers of Rosenberg in particular used to demonstrate their relationship with the house of Orsini. They used the motif in their coat of arms, which depicts two bears as shield bearers. This alleged relationship would endorse the antiquity of the House of Rosenberg and lead it to its roots in ancient Rome. The depiction of these bears gave birth to an ancient-old tradition of keeping bears at the castle.

Bears Vilem and Polixena are being kept in the larger of the two moats of Český Krumlov castle.

Bears from Český Krumlov
It is not known when the first bears were kept as so-called castle bears in former Bohemia (a former part of the Czech Republic). But it is known that the first bears were kept at Český Krumlov castle from the second half of the 16th century, dating back to the time of Wilhelm von Rosenberg. It is not known where the bears were housed in or near the castle at the time. It could not have been in the current moat, as it was not built until the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, around 1620. The first records of keeping bears in the moat date from 1707, there were four of them. Bears were kept in the moat continuously from the 1730s to the 1790s, although no animal could be found in the first half of the 19th century. It was not until 1857 that Karl zu Schwarzenberg of the Orlík family obtained some bears from Transylvania (Romania) for Johann Adolf II zu Schwarzenberg. Besides the fact that bears were born in Český Krumlov castle, the number of animals was maintained by purchasing them from zoos, as well as by donations from famous aristocrats. From 1887 the moat remained uninhabited for 20 years. In 1907, Prince Sigmund Schonburg-Waldenburg zu Schwarzenberg presented two bears named Ruschi and Ajax to Český Krumlov, brought from the grounds of Kynžvart castle. The first bear lived until 1930, the other until 1935. After that, the moat has always been inhabited by bears, until present times.

Oder female called Marie-Terezie is kept in the smaller part of the castle moat..

Bear Alert notifications
In addition to bears in the moat of Český Krumlov, bears were and are also kept in moats at other castles. Over the years, Bears in Mind has received many reports via Bear Alert, usually by tourists visiting the castles. Around 2010, an attempt was made to draw attention to this phenomenon in the Czech Republic, but no solution was found. At present (2025) there are three brown bears in Český Krumlov and two brown bears at Točník castle. The so-called medvědárium in Zámecký park in Kladno has two brown bears. In addition, there is a brown bear in the medvědárium in the city park of Beroun.

Asiatic black bear male called Jirka, kept in the moat of Konopiště castle until December 18, 2024.

Since 2021, we have actively picked up again and started investigating the situation with the local Czech partner and our German colleagues from Foundation for Bears (Stiftung für Bären), how to gradually end this phenomenon and work towards better welfare for these bears.

Team work, works!

We have had conversations with the local partner, with the castle managers and with the responsible person within the National Heritage Institute (NPU). This institute falls directly under the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for the management of Czech monuments and castles (and therefore also the bears!). We had a successful first meeting with Mr. Pešek, where we presented our organizations, presented and handed-over the petition, shared our views and proposed solutions (e.g. relocation of all bears to proper sanctuaries in Germany and The Netherlands). Local tradition is an important motivation in this, why there are still bears kept (legally) in this way, unlike the rest of Europe.

FLTR: Rüdiger Schmiedel (St.f.B.), Eva Filipczyková (CZ project leader), Oldřich Pešek (Deputy Director General – NPU), Bernd Nonnenmacher (St.f.B.) and Koen Cuyten (Bears in Mind)

In collaboration with the owners, the responsible institutions and authorities, we look into improving the lives of the bears. Important in this regard is, among other things, conducting sound research such as visitor interviews at the various castles, to gain insight into the opinion and motivation of visitors regarding the captive bears. Both local Czech visitors and international tourists. A thorough reseach project by a MSc student from the Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) was done in the summer of 2024, funded by Bears in Mind.

UPDATES

On May 14th 2024, an important meeting between the coalition took place. The goal was to get consensus on the plans above, officially sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

Oldřich Pešek (Deputy Director General – NPU), Bernd Nonnenmacher (St.f.B.) and Ingrid Vermeulen (Bears in Mind)

Thanks to our collaboration with the NPU and our joint effort, Asiatic black bear Jirka (which used to be kept at the Konopiště castle moat in an area of 266 m² – minimum legal requirement is 300 m²), was moved to Ostrava Zoo (CZ) on December 18, 2024. Ostrava Zoo has a forested enclosure for Asiatic black bears of approximately 1 ha, which contains, next to a natural forest, also a lake and many possibilities to hide. Jirka will be sharing this enclosure with an older male Asiatic black bear and a group of northern plains gray langurs (a type of monkey which lives in the bears’ natural environment). Jirka has already met the monkeys during his 30-day quarantine. Now Jirka’s quarantine is over and below is a video of Jirka’s first moments in the main large outside enclosure, where trees got his special attention. We believe that the professionality of Ostrava Zoo, together with the size and possibilities of Jirka’s enclosure, will benefit his mental and physical health significantly.

On January 23rd 2025, bear Ludvik who lived at Náchod castle, was euthanized due to a severe illness. He was 33 years old. His female companion Dáša died two years ago. There are no more bears at Náchod.

More news will follow soon!

The aim of this project was to confiscate several captive bears from poor private keeping in the Yerevan area and give them a new home in the large bear enclosure of Yerevan Zoo, which was completed at the end of 2017 with financial help from Bears in Mind.

Just before Christmas 2017, with funding from Bears in Mind, a bear was freed from its cage at Shant restaurant and transferred to the quarantine enclosure at Yerevan Zoo. She had to stay in quarantine for a few weeks to recover and her very bad teeth were taken care of. She now walks among the other bears in the large bear enclosure in the zoo and is doing well!

The second bear that was rescued in spring of 2018 was a 2-3 year old female (see photo below). Nothing is known about her origin, whether wild or born in captivity, but until rescued by FPWC she was kept in a small concrete cage next to the Golden Hill hotel in the northern Armenian city of Gyumri. She has also been transferred to the quarantine enclosure in Yerevan Zoo and fortunately she is doing well and in excellent health!

On this page, the latest bear rescue mission will be published.

May 5th, 2025 – Bears Roza & Taras from Ukraine

May 5 – Liberation Day in the Netherlands – Bears in Mind travelled to the Ukraine to pick up two brown bears named Taras & Roza. Thanks to the many donations from the crowdfunding campaign “de Beregoeiereis” organized by Bears in Mind, it became possible to rescue these two bears from their miserable existence in Ukraine and bring them to the Netherlands.

Taras in his former cage
Rockets destroyed the zoo

This initial rescue operation involved two brown bears located near the war front in Ukraine until the end of October 2024. The bears lived in a private zoo about 20 kilometers from the front line, and the park was hit multiple times by rockets in September and October. The situation became critical, the animals were in danger, and immediate action was needed. The swift evacuation at the end of October was carried out immediately by Natalyia Popova from the local organization Wild Animal Rescue, and bringing them to safety at the Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr for temporary shelter. Now that all the necessary paperwork for transport is completed, the veterinary requirements met, it was finally time for the two bears to move to their permanent home: the Bear Forest in Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, where they will take their first steps into the forest early June.

Roza & Taras at their former home in the Donetsk region

“We are very grateful to all donors and to our EARS partner Four Paws and the people working at Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr who helped make this rescue possible. That they were able to get the bears out of a war zone so we are able to give them a bear-worthy future in Het Berenbos,” says Ingrid Vermeulen, director of Bears in Mind.

From Ukraine to the Netherlands
Zootransfer was hired for the job and Koen Cuyten, project manager from Bears in Mind, accompanied them. In Ukraine, the bears were loaded quickly and professionally at Domazhyr sanctuary. It took the team quite some time to cross the border out of Ukraine and into Poland, but eventually on the road in the EU, it went quickly and the bears were calm and well.

Arrival in Het Berenbos in Rhenen
Roza and Taras arrived at the Bear Forest in Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen on Saturday morning at 2am. After the long journey, a comfortable indoor enclosure awaited them. They will stay in quarantine for about a month, after which they will have access to a two-hectare forest area that includes a waterfall, a pond, and various dens for hibernation. They will be fed a diet based on what wild bears eat throughout the year, stimulating their natural behavior. Roza and Taras get a second chance, a new beginning — a chance to be bears again.

April 25th, 2025 – Bear Trishka from Kazakhstan

On December 2nd 2024, Bears in Mind received an urgent message about a 22-year old female brown bear named Trishka. She was kept in a cage as a pet behind a house in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. The owner contacted us directly to ask if we could help and take Trishka, since she could no longer care for her bear. The bear was in her care ever since she was a cub, supposedly after her mother was killed by poachers.

We never turn down a bear, but knew it was going to be a race against the clock. The house and bear cage would be demolished in March 2025, the owner was going to leave the country and couldn’t take Trishka with her. Either we would rescue her in time or she might face euthanasia… So, we started immediately!

Firstly, securing a temporary new home for this beautiful bear. As we have been working closely with our friends at the Wildlife Rescue Center ‘Natuurhulpcentrum‘ in Belgium for a long time, it was quickly agreed Trishka could temporarily go to them and from there we would be able to take our time and find a good permanent home for her elsewhere.

Applying for the mandatory CITES Export and Import permits was next. This went surprisingly well and they were issued fast. In the meantime, to be able to import a bear into Belgium, Trishka needed to be vaccinated against Rabies and a subsequent serology test needed to be done. The results came in at the end of February, which were good so we could continue our mission!

In the meantime, the house of the owner of Trishka and the bear cage were demolished to start a large housing development project. It was agreed by the owner and the developer to have a small temporary cage built for Trishka, elsewhere, so the project was not delayed and we could continue preparing her for her relocation to Belgium.

Early April, we prepared our special bear transport crate to be send to Kazakhstan. Our partner Zoologistics at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam sent the crate ahead of the transfer to Astana on the 12th of April.

On April 24, one day before Trishka arrived in Frankfurt, the green light has been given in Astana and all paperwork was in order. Special thanks to the hard work of Mr Qadyr Baimukhanov from the local agent Globalink in Kazakhstan and FlyFauna (who handled documents when Trishka arrived at Frankfurt DE in the EU).

On the morning of April 25 bear Trishka arrived at the Animal Lounge of Frankfurt Airport! We inspected her in the quarantine building and she was doing fine after such a long yourney. She was eager to get out of the crate of course! After several hours of vet checks and custom clearance, we could finally take her on the road to Belgium. The team of Bears in Mind and Natuurhulpcentrum arrived at the wildlife rescue center in Oudsbergen, Belgium around 17:00hrs. Trishka couldn’t wait to get out! Although many animals are careful and hesitant to get out of the relative safety of the transport cage, to move into the new enclosure, Trishka was out in seconds to explore her new surrounding!

Trishka will get a vet check soon and she will stay in mandatory quarantine for 3 months, because she has come from outside the EU. After that, she will move to her temporary outdoor enclosure at Natuurhulpcentrum. In the meantime, Bears in Mind will monitor her health and behaviour closely in order to look into the options for a permanent home later this year.

This mission turned out to be a great success, thanks to the hard work and dedication of all involved and a special thanks to LUFTHANSA for making this possible!

A relatively high number of rehabilitated brown bear cubs have been released over the last years. However, do we know if these bears behave normally? Or do they present any kind of different behaviour compared with the totally wild ones? In this project a team from Fundacion Oso de Asturias (FOA) in Spain, together with experts from ARCTUROS and the IUCN Bear Specialist Group want to describe and compare the behaviours of released brown bears that have gone through a captive-rearing process (i.e. rehabilitated) with independent subadult bears that have been raised within their family group in the wild.

Specifically, the team wants to compare daily activity and movement patterns of subadult brown bears and their use or avoidance of anthropogenic habitats. On the other hand, the team also wants to evaluate complementary bear data considering other brown bear populations (e.g. British Columbia) or other bear species (e.g. American and Asiatic black bears).

The results of this study may be of particular interest for the management orphaned, wounded, or abandoned bear cubs, giving knowledge of how they behave after their release.

With a special focus on brown bears (Ursus arctos) and other bear species, and in collaboration with various UK zoological collections, this project by the University of Salford in the UK, aims to test the problem-solving and object-manipulation abilities of various carnivoran species. Whilst important from an ex-situ conservation standpoint – in terms of enrichment and improving bear welfare – the project also has a rigorous theoretical grounding.

Results from the trials will be measured against various social, ecological and life history factors, to help elucidate whether large brains have evolved to facilitate skills within a specific domain such as sociality (the “social brain” hypothesis) or whether they have evolved to produce a more domain-general skill set (the “cognitive buffer” hypothesis). Through testing of the “social brain” and “cognitive buffer” hypotheses, the results from this project will go toward confirming the origins of cognition, and highlighting the cognitive capacity of carnivoran, specifically bear, species. For bears we foresee conservation pay-offs resulting from public perception changes that have been previously afforded to other “intelligent” taxa.

Here is a link to the scientific article by Helen Chambers.

Bears in Mind funded part of the research.

(c) Header photo bear with puzzle box: Kathryn Page

The situation regarding captive bears in the Ukraine is dire. As many as 400 bears may be held under poor conditions throughout the country, in private ownership or small zoos. Unregulated and illegal breeding of bears is a major problem. Our partner Eco-Halych is gathering data on these cases in order to properly estimate the scale of the problem. They already operate a small sanctuary for several of the brown bears, rescued in 2016. Bears in Mind has provided funds to equipe a surgery room at the sanctuary, so bears that are brought in can undergo basic dental treatment, castration or other surgery needed.

Bears in Mind and several other international animal welfare organisations are planning to work more closely together, with the responsible Ministry in UA, in order to end captive bear suffering in the Ukraine.

Hopefully, after the war in UA has ended, we can resume our joint and urgent tasks in the Ukraine. 

Free the Bears (FTB) has constructed a brand new, 60-acre wildlife sanctuary intended to provide vital support to the government of Laos’ efforts at ending bear bile farming and the illegal trade in threatened species. The Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary will also incorporate a dedicated Cub Nursery and Intensive Care Unit for orphaned bear cubs. Bears in Mind will finacially assist FTB with the construction of these important units. Bear houses, outdoor enclosures covering 15,000m2 have already been constructed, along with Quarantine facilities and a fully equipped wildlife hospital.

In order to increase capacity for the housing and rearing of rescued bear cubs, FTB will develop a new Cub Nursery and Intensive Care Unit within the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary. This facility will be modeled on the existing Cub Nursery located at FTB Cambodian Bear Sanctuary which has been in operation since 2013. The new facility will offer them the opportunity to receive and raise orphaned bear cubs in a safe and secure location, away from visitors and within the site that will most probably be the bears lifetime home.

Currently no specific facilities exist for the rearing of rescued bear cubs within Laos, meaning that cubs often have to be kept in temporary enclosures or even private homes if they require around-the-clock care. As they grow older, they have to be kept in temporary enclosures within the sanctuary, often in close proximity to adult bears which may harm them should they come into contact with one another. The planned facility will incorporate overnight accommodation for staff, making night-time feeds much easier, a clean and sterile environment for food preparation and daily husbandry of cubs such as weighing or toileting. A humidicrib used for human babies will be incorporated for the tiniest of cubs – essential in Laos where overnight temperatures can drop rapidly. Finally, as cubs grow older and become more independent, tailor-made play pens will allow them to develop their locomotion skills without the risk of harming themselves.

The ICU and cub rehabilitation center was finished in 2021 and Bears in Mind continues to support this project.

On August 3 2019, bears Medo & Buya were loaded onto a transport van which took them all the way from the small town of Vlahi in Bulgaria to the small town of Aprica in Northern Italy. It was a long but successful journey, where the bears were actually very calm throughout the trip.

On August the 4th they arrived in Aprica and were taken up the mountain to their new home. Their 10,000sq meter natural forested enclosure is part of an education centre for Alpine wildlife: https://www.parcorobievalt.com/centri-visitatori/osservatorio-eco-faunistico-alpino

During the next days both bears settled in nicely, each their own separate indoor enclosure. After several weeks of exploring the forested outdoor enclosure, the bears were finally reunited again!

They are doing very well and we hope that they will have many wonderful years to come!

Let’s take you back a bit…

Bear Medo was rescued from a circus in 2004 and via temporary keeping in Sofia Zoo, placed at the large carnivore centre in Vlahi in 2006. With financial help from Bears in Mind a special enclosure was built. The main purpose of housing the bear in Vlahi was educational, as living ambassador for his kind. The visitors of the Large Carnivore Education Centre which opened in Spring 2007, had the chance to see a bear in semi natural environment and to observe behaviour close to the natural. Visitors learned more about bears in the wild and the real needs of conserving the species. They received information about the purpose of having the bear there and about the LC centre. School groups which visited Medo, received special lectures about bears in the wild. Local people accepted the bear very positively, with big interest and Medo often received gifts like a big bag with apples (or other fruits), cabbage, tomatoes, etc. The Balkani Wildlife Society (BWS) team was very happy to see that, as it was important for Medo’s long term stay in the village.

In April 2014 bear Medo got a new neighbour: bear Buya from Kormisosh! Bears in Mind helped BWS financially to build a new enclosure for Buya. Once it was finished and all permits were in, Buya moved out of Kormisosh to her new home in Vlahi.

Unfortunately, due to the rough economic situation in Bulgaria and more specifically for NGOs like BWS, funds quickly dried up and the bears could no longer be kept in Vlahi. After Bears in Mind funded their care for another year, it was decided to find a new and safe home for Medo & Buya.

Following the successful registration of illegally and legally held bears in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Pašić and Trbojević, 2018), it is necessary to move to the second phase for the fulfillment of the main objective: development of a bear sanctuary in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to accommodate between 10-20 privately owned bears from within the country.

Bears in Mind has partnered with the Center for Environment (CZZS). This local Bosnian NGO focuses on the conservation of carnivores in the Balkan country, where bears take up a prominent role. Since the concept of a sanctuary for captive bears is new to BiH/ CZZS, Bears in Mind organized a two day excursion to a well-known bear sanctuary in the Black Forest in Germany. Operated by Foundation for Bears. The Bosnian group were representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations, from the Republic of Srpska:

  • Mr Goran Zubić, RoS Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (Head of Hunting sub-Department),
  • Mr Sretko Stanković, Public Forest Company, JPŠ “Šume Republike Srpske” (Head of Department for Hunting, Nature Protection and Tourism),
  • Mr Dejan Radošević, Republic Institute for Nature Protection, and
  • Mrs Aleksandra-Anja Dragomirović, Head of Center for Environment.

After having seen a very well designed and managed bear sanctuary in Germany, the coalition started making plans for a site visit in Bosnia. A possible site had already been identified by the Bosnian partners, located in a forested area in the western part of the Republic of Srpska: Drinic. Bears in Mind invited an independent consultant, Mr Douglas Richardson, as an expert on carnivore (bear) enclosure design. A visit to Bosnia followed soon, where we had meetings with the above group and the ministry that would be involved in the project. Everyone was very positive about this project and cooperation, an important step in the development towards a sanctuary.

The group then visited the Drinic area where a proposed 7,5ha of forested are is marked as suitable for the development of the sanctuary. There are natural pools and several artificial dens already in place. There is also a deer fence surrounding the area, useful as a possible barrier to keep future visitors out!

After the site visit, we went to the CZZS office to put all our ideas on paper and make a rough plan for Douglas to work out. It was a very interesting afternoon and an inspiring process to work on! Next will be the creation of the plan, putting a number to it and look for contractors. Paralel to this, we will draw up several MoU’s between relevant stakeholders and governmental bodies (also the two entities that make up BiH: the Republic of Srpska and Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina).

More information will follow soon. Below are several of the captive bears still in private possession, awaiting their relocation to the new bear sanctuary.

The problem of keeping bears in captivity has a two decades-long history in Georgia. The animals are kept predominantly for local and international tourists’ attraction in restaurants, petrol stations, monasteries, along and nearby the central highway that crosses the country horizontally (Batumi-Dedoplistskaro, approx. 800 km). The issue is linked to two major problems: contribution to wild population decline and inhumane treatment of animals. Many organizations (including Bears in Mind, SEED, NACRES, Tbilisi Zoo, some voluntary shelters, government of Georgia etc.) have been dealing with this problem since the collapse of Soviet Union. Remarkable success was achieved through the implementation of different concrete projects; however, the problem still exists (although not to the devastating degrees as it was observed in the 90s) and bears (predominantly cubs) still occur in captivity every spring. Most of them are still kept under deplorable conditions. In parallel, concerned organizations, at this moment, do not have credible monitoring data and it is not exactly known how many bears there are in (illegal) captivity throughout Georgia. Moreover, effective legislation of Georgia prescribes fines to an owner, confiscation of a bear and moving it to a shelter. Nevertheless, the limited capacity of shelters (including the national zoo) in conjunction to the low awareness of the population leads the government (also the judicial system) to be inactive and “close its eyes” to the problem.

Most of the bears in captivity have been registered in a central database. Several surveys on bears in captivity have been initiated over the years, where information about the bears and their owners was collected, following a specially prepared questionnaire. The bears’ owners received advice on improvement of food, living conditions, health and general care for bears. NACRES staff also checked whether the owner had a permit to keep the bear. This was very often not the case. Curiously, the owners did not use the bears to gain money from them. It is thought that the caged bears are kept as a status symbol. In 2007 three poorly kept bears that lived in a closed-down zoo near Tbilisi were taken to the Bear Forest in the Netherlands. This rescue operation generated a lot of nationwide media attention towards the problem, which put the captive bear issue back on the agenda. With the survey data, the next step was to implement the Captive Bear Action Plan. Furthermore, the development of a shelter for confiscated or rescued bears should be developed. Unfortunately, many of our joint efforts have thus far shown little success. Mostly because of the priorities within the government.

Since 2019, Bears in Mind cooperates with SEED in an awareness initiative, hoping to find lasting solutions for the problems related to captive bears in Georgia.