Bear at cafe near Krasnoyarsk loses use of hind legs after 29 years

At the Araik cafe in the Yemelyanovo district near Krasnoyarsk, a bear named Kuzia has been living for nearly 30 years. He came to public attention amid news about another bear, Misha, who was also taken in by the Taiga cafe near Balakhta many years ago.

NGS24.RU learned about Kuzia from the son of the Araik«s owners (he asked not to be named). According to him, in the late 1990s, after forest fires, volunteers found a bear cub alone, without its mother. They placed it at the cafe — presumably temporarily. The owner of Araik put the little cub in a German shepherd enclosure, but no one ever came back for Kuzia.

«Nobody came to take the bear, so my father had to build a big enclosure, and that»s how he began living with us,« said the cafe owners» son.

According to him, they tried several times to find Kuzia a new home but failed. As a result, the bear has been living at the cafe for 29 years, which, he said, is already old age.

«30 years for a bear is like 90 years for a person,» he says.

Recently, Kuzia has developed health problems. According to the NGS24.RU source, the bear is suspected to have had a stroke and lost use of his hind legs. The animal is now receiving treatment. Specialists visited the site, including from Yemelyanovo and Krasnoyarsk. In addition, inspections by Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources) were carried out at the cafe, which, according to the source, found no violations: «All the paperwork is in order.»

Already this week, Kuzia is due to be taken to Moscow for treatment: the name of the organization, according to the young man, was asked not to be disclosed. Later, the organization itself plans to talk about the assistance and publish a video of the bear.

«We reached out to them, and they decided to help us,» said the source.

Update. It turned out that people from a Moscow-region shelter and lion park will come for Kuzia. Earlier it was reported that they would be rescuing another bear living at a cafe — namely Misha near Balakhta.

Cafe visitors react to the bear in different ways. Some have known him since childhood, and now they themselves come with their own children, says the owners« son.

«They know that the bear always eats well, because he is so plump and well-groomed,» he assured.

However, on social media there are now also negative comments from users, which increased after the story of the bear Misha from the cafe near Balakhta, who attracted attention this summer.

«Many people — many opinions,» the NGS24.RU source said of this.

Kuzia, according to him, is practically a member of the family.

«I can»t remember my life without the bear. I was three years old when he appeared. Our only wish now is for the bear to be healthy and live out his days in some measure of joy,« he said.

At the same time, not only a bear lives at the Araik cafe, but also other animals. Mostly domestic ones: cats, dogs, geese, a piglet, a kid goat, a rooster and hens — as well as a hedgehog and a she-wolf named Lapa. The she-wolf was also once left «temporarily» but never collected by the volunteers. Soon she, like Kuzia, will be sent to Moscow, added the cafe owners« son.

Mostly, animals are dumped on them at the cafe, he explained. Once, someone left a box with ten kittens in the morning — most were given away to visitors, and one stayed to live at the cafe. Why people abandon animals with them, the NGS24.RU source does not know.

«Maybe they think we»re ready to feed everyone,« he mused. »Well, in principle, that«s what we do. But it»s still a big expense. So I don«t think people should be dumping animals on us, no.»