Libearty might be the last chance for Masha and Laura, two female bears, sisters, who had to live their 24 years in circuses, forced to perform heart-breaking tricks for paying audiences, in order to receive some food. Obliged to jump over fences, to ride the bycicles or walk on a wire, the 25 year old girls missed the most valuable thing – a real bear’s life. When they were not performing, Masha and Laura were imprisoned in tiny and miserable cages, barely big enough for them to turn around in. Traumatized since they had been taken away from their mother when they were just two little cubs, they couldn’t even imagine they could live better.
But all these things may remain behind, as a nightmare they managed to escape from. The Millions of Friends Association accepted the request sent by SOS Zoo and Bear Rescue and The Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization (LAEO) from Ukraine, who managed to take the bears out of the circus and searched for a better place for them.
“Although Libearty is meant to save the bears kept captive in Romania, we could not remain untouched by the story of the two sisters. We appreciate that Masha and Laura deserve to enjoy the normal life of a bear, climb the trees, dig for roots and build dens in the winter. Usually, the circus bears are emotionally and psychologically affected and they need a lot of care in order to escape from their mental cages and forget the things they were forced to do in the circus“, said Cristina Lapis, the president of the Millions of Friends Association.
The life expectancy of the bears in the wild is about 25 years, but in the sanctuaries, where they do not need to fight for food or for mating – as the males are neutered when they enter the sanctuary, to avoid having cubs in captivity, they might live 35, up to 40 years. Thus, the two sisters might live at least 10 more years of unstressful life, in the sanctuary.
LAEO managed to obtain the CITES permits, for the b
ears to leave Ukraine, at this moment, the Millions of Friends Association is also waiting for the import permits from the Romanian authorities.
