Russian animal shelter collects thousands of dollars in just 5 days to rehome orphaned bear kept in cramped cage

After an appeal, a shelter in Russia’s Far East has successfully collected enough money to rehouse an orphaned Asian black bear.

Residents of the Primorsky Region raised 338,000 rubles ($4,630) in just five days, so the bear, which has been named Artem, can have a new home at Kiparisovo, Russia’s only dedicated shelter for the species.

Artem was left as an orphan after his parents were killed by poachers. He was saved by a local man, who has now passed away - leaving the bear an orphan once again. Following his keeper’s death, Artem was kept in a tiny cage.

But once the owners of Vladivostok's Sadgorod Zoo found out about Artem's plight, they took the bear to the Kiparisovo shelter, which it also runs. The specialist center was built last year and aims to protect bears that are not adapted to life in the wild. Animals living at the shelter have been seized from people who kept them illegally.

Kiparisovo is a private organization, and charges just 500 rubles ($6.85) per visitor. Due to the pandemic, and a lack of funds, it announced an emergency fundraising drive, in order to build a shelter in their spacious territory.

As well as the Russian Far East, the Asian black bear is native to the Himalayas, India, Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is categorized as "vulnerable" due to deforestation and poaching.

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