Bears Who Spent Three Decades Behind Bars Take Their First Steps Of Freedom
Timothy Roberts
Our hearts really go out to the animals that are caged for long amounts of time. It should be obvious but not every animal in a cage is living the good life.
That is especially true at some of the smaller zoos that may be located along the roads in rural areas. In Pennsylvania, a small zoo had four different bears in captivity, and they spent the majority of their lives behind bars.
Photo: According to PETA, the bears were used for entertainment purposes and they didn't really get the attention that was necessary to be happy and healthy. The zoo had already been closed down after they were cited for some Animal Welfare Act violations in the 1990s.
Even though the zoo has been closed for more than two decades, the animals were still able to be kept in cages. The problem was that things got increasingly worse for those four bears, Fifi, Bruno, Pocahontas, and Marsha.
Photo: Imagine spending 30 years inside a cage without the proper food and care. Instead of being out exploring the wild, they were stuck in the tiny pens that were described as "dilapidated dog houses" by PETA. The bears were in bad shape.
Fifi was the worst of the four bears and was extremely weak. The other bears were weak as well because they were not being fed properly and were filthy because they couldn't access water.
That changed for the bears when PETA arranged for their transport to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. Those bears are now roaming about on land in the wild, socializing with each other and the other animals that live at the sanctuary.
Rather than being stuck in a cage, they are now free, but the most beautiful part is watching their first steps of freedom. You can see it in this video:
