When he first came to the shelter, the bear named Rick had to get used to the new conditions for a long time and settle in an unfamiliar place for him.
Riku spent a long time in a small shack, from which chains prevented him from leaving. According to rescuers, the bear lived in a small cage near a house in Albania since childhood, but by the age of two, Riku had grown very much, and the owner no longer wanted to keep him.
For the first years of his life, Riku was chained and couldn’t even go outside, so he didn’t know what the sun and grass were.
After taking the animal from its previous owner, the rescuers took it to an animal shelter in Bulgaria. This center specializes in animals that have been mistreated in the past, and local staff know how to properly rehabilitate. There is a large park on the territory of the center, where conditions are created for the rehabilitation of bears.
Experts say that for the rescued bears, the most difficult task is to hibernate. In captivity, animals do not have the opportunity to act according to their biorhythms, they cannot build a lair for themselves, and therefore, in freedom, they cannot prepare for hibernation and fall into it. Very often, bears go through several hibernation cycles before their innate instincts take over.
The rescuers don’t have a workable way to help Rick deal with this problem.
Last year, the baby was too active and the first snow caused him such a range of emotions that there was no question of any dream. No one knows how the bear will behave this winter.
While the other bears in the center were busy building dens, Riku was too fascinated by his new found freedom and spent all his time playing, using everything that came to hand as toys.
The staff of the center hope that everything will work out for Riku this year, especially since he has been very calm and satisfied lately. Even if the bear fails to fall asleep this time, he will obviously not be bored and will find something to do in the winter.
