Nature wins over nurture for brown bears trading zoo life for Arcturos shelter

Greek brown bears Sasha and Alexandra have adapted to life closer to their natural habitat at the Arcturos Shelter for brown bears in Nymphaio, Florina, after a lifetime in captivity in Thessaloniki’s zoo. Arcturos staff confirmed that the two sisters, aged 23, were able to adapt beautifully as their instincts kicked in.

Staff said that despite living in captivity for their entire lives and being deprived the right to follow their biological clocks they were still able to collect leaves to line their dens in the time-honored ursine fashion and were among the first of the Arcturos bears to enter their winter hibernation.

It was surprising to see the bears manage to make their nest and eat beech nuts that they had never eaten before despite never having done that before. The other nine bears that the shelter caters to have also gone into hibernation.

The two bears had been transfered to Greece in November 1993 from Belgrade. They had been found wandering alone after their mother had been killed in a minefield.