Rangers in Pădurea Bogății forest reserve in Transylvania recently stumbled upon a den and inside found two young brown bear cubs. Strangely, their mother bear had vanished, according to Asociatia Milioane De Prieteni, or AMP, which would eventually rescue the cubs.
“The rangers had been observing the babies, in their den, for three days, hoping their mother would return. As the mother bear didn’t show up, the rangers called the AMP to ask for help,” the group said.
Their mother was likely killed. The cubs, pegged at about one month old, were whisked to AMP’s Victory animal shelter. They were dehydrated, but otherwise pretty healthy, veterinarians said. Still, they needed to be bottle-fed every two hours with a special milk, which they took to right away. But it doesn’t mean the cubs will survive.
“The mother bear can breast feed her cubs for up to two years, so time could show us if they can make it or not, as they are weakened and the risk to get sick is quite high,” the group said.
The cubs have been transferred to the Libearty Sanctuary in Romania, which is funded in part by World Animal Protection for specialized care, and, if all goes well, animal welfare officials hope to release them back into the wild.
In the meantime, they are getting used to their new surroundings. And are, well, ridiculously adorable.
“Unlike some rescued bears,” the World Animal Protection group explained, “whose life in captivity has meant that they simply can’t be released into the wild, it is hoped that these beautiful cubs can one day return to their natural habitat.”
