Mark, “the last restaurant bear”, arrived in Lower Austria

The brown bear named mark was not immediately ready to explore the snowy winter landscape, according to the animal welfare organization Four Paws. “After more than 20 years in a small concrete cage, it took him some time before he felt natural ground under his paws for the first time in 24 years,” a release said on Friday.

“When the door of his carrier opened, mark quietly in it and curiously looked at the snow-covered forest in front of him. But he didn’t move outside for the time being,” it said. Finally, he decided to “put his paws on the forest floor and start his new life with it.”

“It was a great and emotional moment for the whole team, Marks to observe the first steps in his new home. During the trip, he gradually gave us more insights into his character and we can hardly wait to be able to accompany his further development,” said Eva Rosenberg, country manager of Four Paws Austria mark stay in a smaller outdoor enclosure with an artificial cave built for him. As soon as he is ready, he will be released into his large enclosure.

After the departure of the Four Paws team mark the restaurant owner in Albania has already ordered the destruction of the cage next to the restaurant. “With Marks rescue, we have ended the cruel practice of keeping him next to a restaurant to attract and entertain visitors,” said Josef Pfabigan, CEO of Four Paws.

Sad life in the cage over

According to a press release on Wednesday, the 24-year-old spent brown bear mark most of his life as an attraction in a small metal cage next to a pub, with no retreat or shelter from the elements. “Four Paws” convinced the owner, mark and organized the trip from Tirana to the Waldviertel.

To Marks When he was released, a veterinarian first determined his ability to travel. Still, the bear requires extensive medical attention. His teeth and claws are badly worn from years of chewing on the bars and asphalt floor of his cage. In addition, due to an extreme lack of exercise, he urgently needs to build up muscles and, according to Four Paws director Eva Rosenberg, he is severely overweight due to years of incorrect feeding. He hadn’t been able to show any natural behavior in his cage, so he’s also never hibernated.

The Arbesbach Bear Sanctuary has been offering rescued bears a lifelong home in a natural habitat since 1998. There should mark live together with three other bears on pristine 14,000 square meters. The area in the Waldviertel offers forests, bodies of water and above all caves in which the animals can withdraw.

Even though mark according to Four Paws research was the last Albanian “restaurant bear”, there is still enough work for animal rights activists in the country in the southern Balkans. Keeping bears and other wildlife species privately is still legal there. According to the Albanian Four Paws project coordinator Sajmir Shehu, only a change in the law can end the suffering of many animals. Therefore, the activists are working together with the Albanian government on a new memorandum of understanding, which should improve cooperation in changing and implementing laws.