It’s always heart-breaking to see wild animals kept in tiny cages, far away from the wilderness where they supposed to roam free. It is also the case of Rocco, a 8-year-old bear who spent his entire life in a tiny rusty cage, in Elbasam, Albania.
Now, thanks to the efforts of FOUR PAWS International, the bear got the chance to smile again. Rocco was bought by his owner when he was just a couple of weeks old cub. Since then, the poor animal lived in a 12-square-meter metal cage and his feet never felt ground beneath since the floor was made out of concrete. Needless to say, there was nothing to protect him from rain, wind or snow.
This is Rocco, one of Albania’s #Saddestbears Unable to live out his natural instincts, he’s resorted to gnawing at his cage bars to combat stress. He’s also been fed nothing but kitchen scraps & bread. We want to rescue him & bring him to our beautiful BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz🌳 pic.twitter.com/8bzSrOefGg
— FOUR PAWS USA (@FOURPAWSUSA) May 29, 2019
His situation was so sad that the bear even tried to bite on the metal bars of his cage, to set him free. Thankfully, two weeks ago, Rocco’s miserable life came to an end, as the volunteers at FOUR PAWS International rescued him. After a long 40-hour journey, Rocco was taken at BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz in Germany, where he gets the chance of a normal, happy life.
“We are happy that we finally got Rocco to his new home. Our team at the sanctuary is specialised for the care he needs now. After years of suffering in bad conditions, Rocco will come to rest, have room to move around and live a bear-friendly life. At the BEAR SANCTUARY Mueritz, he will finally discover how to live out his natural instincts,” Carsten Hertwig, Bear Expert of FOUR PAWS declared.
