Several volunteers from the Oudsbergen Nature Help Centre, in the Flemish province of Limburg, are on their way back from a mission to rescue two bears and a wolf from Ukraine.
The three animals were evacuated from bombed areas in the war-torn country and were first taken in by a zoo in the Polish city of Poznan, which is where the Belgian volunteers went to collect them.
The two bears are from the Mena Zoo in Chernihiv in the northern part of the country. They are seven-year-old siblings, a brother and a sister.
One of the bears being checked by volunteers. Credit: Natuurhulpcentrum
“The bears are in good health, even though they are exhibiting signs of stereotyped behaviour of animals that have lived in cages that were too small,” Frederik Thoelen of the Nature Help Centre told Belga News Agency.
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The wolf, an adult male, was confiscated from private individuals and had been living in a Polish refuge.
The wolf, an adult male, was confiscated from private individuals and was in a Polish shelter.
Because the quarantine department of the Nature Help Centre is as good as full at the moment, only the wolf will directly be moved there. Meanwhile, Bellewaerde Park will make its infrastructure available for two months to allow the bears to complete their quarantine.
Afterwards, the animals will also be brought to Oudsbergen. This isn't the first time the centre has taken in animals from the country in conflict, as they have also housed two lions and two caracals.
