Three bear cubs undergo rehabilitation in Romania
The bear cubs will be returned to the wild in Serbia after two years.
International animal charity FOUR PAWS has supported the transfer of three orphaned Serbian bear cubs to the Bear Orphan Station Harghita in Romania.
The five-month-old trio, Tara, History and Sleepy, were discovered by the police in May, near the Montenegro border.
It is thought that their mother had been killed by poachers or chased away, and the orphaned cubs were small and skinny, the smallest weighing no more than 2.8kg.
FOUR PAWS were called on to transfer the bears to Romania, as there is currently no special establishment for the rehabilitation of bear orphans in Serbia.
The cubs were accommodated transitionally at the Zoo Palic in Serbia, which according to FOUR PAWS has good quality standards compared to other Serbian animal parks. However, this zoo would not have been a suitable long term solution.
Carsten Hertwig, bear expert at FOUR PAWS explains: "The continuous contact with the visitors of [Zoo Palic] would destroy their chances of being released into the wild one day. Therefore we aimed to bring them to the Bear Orphan Station as soon as possible.”
The cubs were flown directly to the Bear Orphan Station in Harghita, Romania, from Arad airport. The station is in an isolated location, which will allow minimal exposure of the bears to humans.
Twenty-six bears are currently in rehabilitation at the station, waiting to be released back to the wild. Tara, History and Sleepy are recovering well in the company of others.
The cubs remain in the possession of the Serbian State, and after about two years of rehabilitation they will be returned and released back into the wild. They will each be fitted with a transmitter, allowing their progress to be monitored further.
Hertwig is very happy about this humane solution for the trio. “Now the bears can be prepared optimally for their later life in the wild. We are confident that they will develop well and really be able to be released to the outdoors.”
Image courtesy of FOUR PAWS.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is inviting applications from veterinary students to attend a one-week extramural studies (EMS) placement in July 2026.
