After years in a concrete enclosure, Yavor the bear moves to Belitsa Bear Park
The brown bear, who previously lived at the Lovech zoo, has open ground, a pool and a den for the first time in years. The park closes to visitors on Nov. 1.
Symbolic image · Photo: Иван / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Yavor the bear, who previously lived at the zoo in Lovech, has arrived at the Belitsa Bear Park. In Lovech the brown bear had been kept in concrete enclosures without vegetation, where he could not display his natural behavior. Now, for the first time in years, Yavor has access to open space, a bathing pool and a den where he can hide. The move was announced by the animal welfare foundation Four Paws.
The bear is in good health and under constant supervision by a veterinarian and park staff. For now he is in a three-decare quarantine area with an artificial den and a large pool. Park head Nikola Popkostadinov said Yavor faces weeks of adaptation in the quarantine section. The move was made possible by Four Paws, Blagoevgrad Municipality and the zoos in Blagoevgrad and Lovech, with the proposal submitted by Mayor Metodi Baykushev.
For the animal's welfare, visitors will not be able to see him for now. The park closes to guests on Nov. 1, as the bears prepare for hibernation. Until then it is open from 12:00 to 18:00, with the last tour starting at 17:30.