A zoo in the Tomsk region has nursed back to life a bear cub found by villagers along a railroad.
Residents of Kirgizka, population 117, discovered the skinny and starving bear cub outside their settlement in late April and turned it over to the nearby Seversk zoo.
"Apparently it had been left behind by its mothers and siblings," the zoo, the Seversk
Nature Park, said in a statement. "It was facing imminent death from starvation or at the teeth of dogs, so the people decided to pick it up and give to the zoo."
At first the bear, which the zookeepers named Tikhon, flatly refused to suck milk from a bottle. But gradually its caregivers managed to coax it to eat porridge, first out of their hands and then from a bowl.
"It has now nearly recovered, is active and curious to master its cage, and reaches out to people, who have replaced its missing mother," the zoo said.
A photo of the cub released by the zoo shows a cuddly brown animal standing on its hind legs near a bowl of porridge and peering curiously at a caregiver.
It was unclear what had happened to the mother bear and why it had abandoned the cub.
Bear cubs, which are born while their mothers are in hibernation, are initially blind, deaf and about the size of a mitten, the zoo noted. Cubs emerge with their mother from the den when they are two to three months old, usually as the snow is melting in April. At three months, the cubs start to eat berries, vegetation and insects. But they continue to drink their mother's milk to the age of six months and older, and they usually stay close to their mother until they are three to four years old.
Tikhon has been placed in a cage in a row of foxes at the zoo. In the future, the zoo hopes to place it with a circus.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.