Bears Gosho, Rada and Bobby prepare for the coming of winter
At DANCING BEAR PARK Belitsa, the FOUR PAWS bear sanctuary, preparations are made for a cold winter. With their physical condition improving massively, some of the bears have started digging their own dens to hibernate in. It is a return to natural instinct for the mighty animals who were denied of their natural habits in their painful past as dancing bears. These days, they can do all that and enjoy the warmth of the autumn sun.
Gosho, who came to Belitsa in the summer of 2001, is 19 years old and the biggest bear at the FOUR PAWS haven. As it would be in the wild, Gosho’s appetite grew as the days got shorter. By late October 2008 he was eating up to 14 kilograms of vegetables and fruits, bread and walnuts every day. The latter are his absolute favorite, even though this giant animal loves all kinds of food. His fur has grown thick and beautiful, leaving hardly a trace of the pitiful condition Gosho had been in when he – like the other bears – was brought to the DANCING BEAR PARK Belitsa by FOUR PAWS.
A bear digging for his dream
In early November of 2008 Gosho decided to dig his own den. This is a remarkable process as digging up the ground is something the bears (who were born in captivity) have not learned as cubs – and it is void of necessity here as the area harbours man-made dens for every animal, providing everything a bear needs if he wants to retreat or hibernate. But Gosho started digging. For a day and a half he hardly rested from his tireless endeavour. When he was finished, the hole he had dug was big enough to park a car in – or to fulfill the dreams of a large bear who was deprived of his youth.
 Rada has a very similar project: she also started digging a den with much enthusiasm. This was observed with much relief by the FOUR PAWS staff caring for the bears at DANCING BEAR PARK Belitsa. Rada, who is 16 years old, came to the sanctuary much later than Gosho, in summer of 2006, and showed many indications of stereotypical behavior in the months after she arrived. But these psychological burdens have disappeared as time progressed, and nothing is more evident than seeing her build a den. Rada has become a happy bear, who loves to eat carrots and visibly enjoys swimming and hiding in the dense forest when it gets warm.
Seasonal philosophy
Bobby has also eaten very much lately – grapes are his favourite food – and his fur is beautiful and will keep him warm in the winter. The healthy 11-year-old bear, who has lived here for seven years, shows little interest in digging a den of his own. Labeled “The philosopher” by the people who work at the FOUR PAWS sanctuary, he simply enjoys the season, resting in the sunlight and thinking. Having spent two thirds of his life at DANCING BEAR PARK Belitsa his behavior is perfectly normal for a bear – but he also knows that he already has a den to hibernate in, and people who care for him.
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