But now, they are the happiest bears in Europe<\/strong>!<\/p>\n These bears lived their entire lives in cages<\/strong>. All of it was done to attract tourists, and the owners of the restaurants didn\u2019t properly care for them. But the Albanian government and Four Paws freed them\u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The only purpose of those bears was to entertain tourists, but it was all only a sad spectacle<\/strong>. But rescue was on its way. These bears would soon set foot on the grass and get all the care and love they needed at a special sanctuary.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As soon as these photos reached international news outlets, people were outraged. After so much pressure of freeing the bears, the Albanian<\/strong> government<\/strong> stepped in and cooperated with the kind people at the Four Paws<\/strong>!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These bears\u2019 bright future awaits. But their past can be seen in how they look and how reluctant they are in getting out of their enclosures and stroll in the open. However, with time, they will grow confident<\/strong>!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For example, Gijna was supposed to be 450 pounds considering her age. But when she was saved from the cage, she weighed only 140 pounds! Thanks to the huge enclosures at the sanctuary, she will have plenty of room to grow!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tomi was the first bear saved from a life inside the cage, and he was the reason why other bears like him got a new chance at a better life. He lived in a concrete<\/strong> cell<\/strong>, next to the toilets<\/strong> of a restaurant\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carsten Hertwig, a bear expert at Four Paws, said in a press release that Tomi\u2019s teeth were badly damaged, that he had injuries on his upper body and it was \u2018high time he was brought out of this horrible<\/strong> place.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pashuk is a solitary bear that was reluctant to go outside his enclosure to meet the other bears. He was found chained and almost strangled<\/strong> by his steel collar. His owners hadn\u2019t changed it since he was a cub!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018I saw many suffering bears, but I have never seen anything like this<\/strong>,\u2019 said Carsten Hertwig, explaining how deep the chain was. The skin grew over the collar because his owners never removed it since they put him in chains\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pashuk\u2019s life was a nightmare. To be stolen from the woods as a cub, and grow without a mother! Hertwig said that the owners \u2018locked<\/strong> him in the shed and never removed<\/strong> the chain ever since.\u2019 But rescuers came to take him away!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A news release from Four Paws updated the followers: \u2018Wonderful news: Albanian authorities confiscate Tomi, the Bear. We are organizing his transfer to a brand new life<\/strong>!\u2019 And soon, Pashuk and Gjina will get their new life!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The wildlife sanctuary near Pristina, Kosovo was getting some heavy crates. And when the crates opened, two bears that were prisoners all their lives took their first steps on the grass<\/strong>. It was their new home!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first two bears that arrived at the sanctuary were once among \u2018the saddest bears in Europe,\u2019 but now, they wake up every day and smell the freedom<\/strong> they have in the sanctuary. Here\u2019s Tomi\u2019s first memorable experience\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bears love to take baths, and Tomi soon discovered that this is going to be his favorite<\/strong> past time. As for Gjina, she had to learn how to walk more confidently out in the great wide space. Then, Pashuk came along!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thomas Pietsch, a wild animal expert at Four Paws, said that \u2018from now on, they’ll be given the care they need in an appropriate environment, and will want for nothing<\/strong>.\u2019 It was indeed time they all got their happy life. Pashuk had to get used to being free\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before being released on the Prishtina Bear Sanctuary, Pashuk had to have his collar removed. He finally arrived at the sanctuary, but his long life of living<\/strong> all alone<\/strong> in a shed since he was only a cub, took a toll on him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The poor bear wasn\u2019t brave enough to emerge from his enclosure to meet the bears and to run in the open. He chose to take things slowly, but when he decides to get out, he\u2019ll be among friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The communications director at Four Paws, Claire LaFrance, said that the bears will receive the \u2018highest standard of care for the rest of their lives,\u2019 and that they are \u2018free<\/strong> from the confines and isolation of inadequate captivity.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tomi, Gijna, and Pashuk were the first of Albanian bears that were freed. But the rescue still has almost 50 bears to save in Albania, said LaFrance: \u2018We hope that, for all of Albania’s ‘saddest<\/strong> bears’<\/strong> languishing in small cages, we are able to give them this very same, very happy ending.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The bears have 40 acres of space they share together, and their lives are finally happy<\/strong>. They have nothing to worry about. Food, medical care, a large space and being with their kind is all they would ever wish for!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brown bears in Europe have had a tough life in the past decades. Take those in the Albanian mountains, for example. This is a sad story, but finally, the bears…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":6253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6241"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6333,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241\/revisions\/6333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedesigninspiration.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}20. Life in Chains<\/h2>\n
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19. A Sad Spectacle<\/h2>\n
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18. People Were Mad<\/h2>\n
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17. A Bright Future<\/h2>\n
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16. Gijna, the Skinny Bear<\/h2>\n
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15. Tomi, the Beginning of the Story<\/h2>\n
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14. A Horrible Place<\/h2>\n
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13. The Lone Pashuk<\/h2>\n
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12. ‘Never Seen Anything Like This\u2019<\/h2>\n
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11. Locked Inside a Shed<\/h2>\n
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10. \u2018Wonderful News!\u2019<\/h2>\n
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9. Heaven – Close to Pristina, Kosovo<\/h2>\n
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8. Tomi and Gjina<\/h2>\n
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7. A Day at the Pool<\/h2>\n
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6. \u2018Bear Necessities\u2019<\/h2>\n
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5. Pashuk Needed Medical Attention<\/h2>\n
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4. A Little Scared<\/h2>\n
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3. Free Again!<\/h2>\n
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2. The First Wave<\/h2>\n
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1. A Better Life<\/h2>\n
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