Terra was 18 years old in 2014, when she came to Libearty. She came together with her son, Pluto, who was only five months old. They were taken over by the Millions of Friends Association only after we received the support of the authorities and of the public, from the Zoo in Resita.
As they arrived in the sanctuary, we were thinking about the possibility to rehab the bear cub. This would have ment to transfer him in the Center for Rehabilitation in tha Hasmas Mountains. In order to do this, his mother should have been tranquilized. It would have meant to steal Terra's bear cub. As any separation of a cub from its mother, especially during the breastfeeding period is a trauma, we decided that they should stay together until ablaction. This is why they were set free in the enclosure, without having him neutered.
„We assume the error and are still against breeding the captive bears. In fact, we managed to separate Pluto and he was neutered. But, before that moment, he managed to pair with four females. We wouldn't think that he could be so precocious. Usually, the brown bear becomes sexually mature when they are three years old. But we were wrong! It is the first case in the 12 years since the sanctuary was open. We have learned from this mistake and will pay more attention in the future“, said Cristina Lapis, the president of the Millions of Friends Association.
