Irkutsk Zoo Gallery Shows How Bear Rescued in 2023 Has Grown
The Irkutsk Zoo Gallery shared new photographs of the bear«s development over the past three years.
Irkutsk Zoo Gallery has shown recent photos of the bear Tina, who was found in the forest as a tiny cub by a Labrador named Elsa in an extremely emaciated condition. This happened near the village of Bolshoye Goloustnoye on Lake Baikal in May 2023. Now Tina has grown into a full-fledged adult.
Tina is seen here four months after her rescue, having gained weight and size.
As a reminder, Tina weighed five times less than normal at the time and was literally on the brink of life and death. After she was picked up in the forest and nursed back to health, zoo staff hoped to release the bear into the wild, but later it became clear that this would be impossible. Within four months, the little one had grown and filled out.
A recent image shows the bear as a healthy adult under the zoo«s care.
The zoo gallery«s management even wanted to send her to a center where bears are prepared for independent life, but they were already preparing for »graduation,« and Tina was too small.
In the wild, bear cubs stay with their mother for 2–3 years; she teaches them what they can and cannot eat, where to find food, and how to build up fat reserves. And the cubs spend their first winter with their mother bear, and there is no other way.
