Key Facts
- In some areas of Russia, and in Western and Eastern Europe, brown bears are already extinct. The bears being hunted in Russia are from the last healthy population in the world.
- Most female bears give birth to one or two cubs during hibernation.
- At birth, the cubs are blind, deaf, toothless, and weigh only one pound. They normally stay with their mother for one-and-a-half years.
- Hundreds of cubs just a few weeks old are left motherless with little or no chance for survival.
- Brown bears are hunted primarily for sport. Bearskin is used for rugs, bear meat is eaten, and the gall bladder is sold for the Traditional Medicine market.
- If bear cubs are rescued and rehabilitated in time, they can be successfully released to a natural life in a Russian reserve.
A brown bear cub at the Russian Bear Orphanage perches on top of a fallen tree branch. Фотография © IFAW/Sergey Pazhetnov
