Teaching Orphans to Survive in the Wild

Since 1996, IFAW has funded the work of a Russian scientist, Professor Valentin Pazhetnov, who has dedicated his life to rehabilitating brown bears. Professor Pazhetnov and his family live at the Clean Forest Biological Station 350 kilometers northwest of Moscow where they bottle-feed and care for orphan bear cubs. When the bears are old enough, they are fed once a day, then left to wander the forest freely and forage for themselves.

The cubs live in a small cabin where the door is always open through the summer months. If they have matured enough, they are released into nature reserves where they may safely survive in the autumn.

IFAW helped build a new shelter next to the forest for the bears with a separate observation room for Professor Pazhetnov. In addition, we supplied funds to drill a well for drinking water, build a den house for the bear cubs, and buy fodder, medicine, and other supplies.

IFAW also helped support research on brown bear behavior and supplied a car for field trips to observe the released bears in the wild. Our most recent grant of US$75,000 was used to expand the bear cub sanctuary, hire additional caretakers, buy research equipment, and extend an electric fence that protects the cubs from predators while they are learning to forage.