Even though it is one of the most dangerous killers on Earth, it is hard for a young animal to survive in the wild.
After her mother died in a sad accident, this baby polar bear was in a dangerous situation. Since polar bear cubs need their moms to feed and protect them until they are about 2.5 to 3 years old, this baby’s fate was set when she was left without one. She was lucky that help came from a place she didn’t expect. At this age, the polar bear cub had trouble getting food independently. The young woman went up to a group of people who worked in an Arctic gold mine and begged for food because she was lost and hungry.
The bear was alone on the Bolshevik island in the Russian Arctic Circle. The smell of food coming from a group of people working at a gold mine on an island caught her attention. In order to save the poor animal, the workers broke very strict rules that say you can’t feed polar bears.
The polar bear stayed close to the people who had saved her for a few months. She even spent her free time cuddling with them. When the gold workers’ contract was up, they had to leave the island and leave the polar bear alone once again. But they were ready to do whatever it took to help save the poor creature. In the end, their attempts paid off!
The head of the Royev Ruchei Zoo, Andrey Gorban, said, “The workers couldn’t get in touch with us at the base because there was no way for them to do so.” Our only hope was that they had left a large pile of trash out in the open, where the cub could eat for weeks. But we heard that the adults had gone back to the shore, leaving the cub alone on the island.
After a few weeks, the polar bear was finally saved and sent to the Moscow Zoo, where she may be moved to a stable home. She spent too much time with people, so she won’t be able to live in the wild. If not for these people, the bear would have been gone for a very long time. In fact, the wildlife officials liked that the workers chose to ignore the rules about not feeding the animals. Andrey Gorban said, “They fed the threatened animal, and by doing so, they tamed her.” The staff saved the cub’s life because there was no way for it to stay alive.
