Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Zărneşti, Brașov County, Romania
Libearty Bear Sanctuary covers an area of around 0.25 square miles of oak and hazel forest 6 miles north east of the town of Zărnești in central Romania.
Libearty Bear Sanctuary is dedicated to Maya, a Brown Bear discovered by a Romanian woman, Cristina Lapis, in 1998 in a filthy cage with metal bars and cement floor in the courtyard of a hotel near Bran Castle. For 4 years, Cristina and her husband travelled around 40 miles every day to feed Maya and spend time with her. Although her health improved, Maya sadly died in March 2002 but Cristina’s experience inspired her to create Libearty Bear Sanctuary.
Libearty Bear Sanctuary was created because of the need to rescue over 50 bears found suffering in small and rusted cages around the country where they had been used as pets or as attractions for restaurants and petrol stations. The bears were all caught from the wild as cubs and had lived all their lives in confined cages with a poor diet and little or no veterinary care. This practice of keeping captive bears was illegal in Romania but until the sanctuary was created the authorities were unable to confiscate these bears due to the lack of facilities available to care for such rescued animals.
The land for Libearty Bear Sanctuary was donated by the Municipality of Zarnesti and funding was provided from a variety of sources, including from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (now renamed as World Animal Protection) who also designed the sanctuary and helped train the staff.
The construction of Libearty Bear Sanctuary started in 2005 and today there are around 70 to 100 rescued Brown Bears living in several large forested enclosures. These forested areas contain large fresh water pools, hibernation dens and hundreds of trees with lush natural vegetation. The bears have a choice whether to stay inside the forested areas or come out to rest or forage in the open meadow areas and pools. For many of them, having been caught from the wild as cubs, this is a new and stimulating experience.
The day-to-day management of the sanctuary, including the rescue and care of the bears and all general maintenance around the sanctuary, is undertaken by Cristina Lapis’s organisation, Milioane de Prieteni (Millions of Friends), which is based in Brașov.
A large central building contains staff areas, storage and preparation areas for food for the bears, the veterinary clinic and a number of quarantine dens for new or sick bears. Although the bears feed on the natural vegetation, nuts and berries available in the forest they do need additional food and the sanctuary staff distribute a large amount of fruit and vegetables each day around the enclosures.
Organised tours of visitors can be guided around the sanctuary while being told the story of the Brown Bear rescues. The sanctuary is not a zoo and the welfare of the bears is the priority but many bears can be seen by visitors near to the enclosure fences.
The Libearty Bear Sanctuary has helped to create better awareness of the issues affecting Brown Bears in Romania and the public, the media and also the authorities have now taken this project to their hearts. The sanctuary has given new life to once captive bears and it is a symbol of optimism for the protection of Romania’s rich natural environment.
In 2007 Romania joined the European Union and that brought new laws to the country including the EU Zoos Directive. This required that all zoos in Romania had to comply with certain standards of animal management. Many zoos could not comply and the bears in these zoos faced euthanasia but were saved by being re-homed at the Libearty Bear Sanctuary.
Date: 6th June 2018
Location: tribute to Maya, Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Zărneşti, Brașov County, Romania
Libearty Bear Sanctuary is dedicated to Maya, a Brown Bear discovered by a Romanian woman, Cristina Lapis, in 1998 in a filthy cage with metal bars and cement floor in the courtyard of a hotel near Bran Castle. For 4 years, Cristina and her husband travelled around 40 miles every day to feed Maya and spend time with her. Although her health improved, Maya sadly died in March 2002 but Cristina’s experience inspired her to create Libearty Bear Sanctuary.
Libearty Bear Sanctuary was created because of the need to rescue over 50 bears found suffering in small and rusted cages around the country where they had been used as pets or as attractions for restaurants and petrol stations. The bears were all caught from the wild as cubs and had lived all their lives in confined cages with a poor diet and little or no veterinary care. This practice of keeping captive bears was illegal in Romania but until the sanctuary was created the authorities were unable to confiscate these bears due to the lack of facilities available to care for such rescued animals.
The land for Libearty Bear Sanctuary was donated by the Municipality of Zarnesti and funding was provided from a variety of sources, including from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (now renamed as World Animal Protection) who also designed the sanctuary and helped train the staff.
The construction of Libearty Bear Sanctuary started in 2005 and today there are around 70 to 100 rescued Brown Bears living in several large forested enclosures. These forested areas contain large fresh water pools, hibernation dens and hundreds of trees with lush natural vegetation. The bears have a choice whether to stay inside the forested areas or come out to rest or forage in the open meadow areas and pools. For many of them, having been caught from the wild as cubs, this is a new and stimulating experience.
The day-to-day management of the sanctuary, including the rescue and care of the bears and all general maintenance around the sanctuary, is undertaken by Cristina Lapis’s organisation, Milioane de Prieteni (Millions of Friends), which is based in Brașov.
A large central building contains staff areas, storage and preparation areas for food for the bears, the veterinary clinic and a number of quarantine dens for new or sick bears. Although the bears feed on the natural vegetation, nuts and berries available in the forest they do need additional food and the sanctuary staff distribute a large amount of fruit and vegetables each day around the enclosures.
Organised tours of visitors can be guided around the sanctuary while being told the story of the Brown Bear rescues. The sanctuary is not a zoo and the welfare of the bears is the priority but many bears can be seen by visitors near to the enclosure fences.
The Libearty Bear Sanctuary has helped to create better awareness of the issues affecting Brown Bears in Romania and the public, the media and also the authorities have now taken this project to their hearts. The sanctuary has given new life to once captive bears and it is a symbol of optimism for the protection of Romania’s rich natural environment.
In 2007 Romania joined the European Union and that brought new laws to the country including the EU Zoos Directive. This required that all zoos in Romania had to comply with certain standards of animal management. Many zoos could not comply and the bears in these zoos faced euthanasia but were saved by being re-homed at the Libearty Bear Sanctuary.
Date: 6th June 2018
Location: tribute to Maya, Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Zărneşti, Brașov County, Romania
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Also in: Romania
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