The Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr is a national park in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and was founded in 2013 by

Four Paws Four Paws (stylized FOUR PAWS) is a global animal welfare organisation based in Vienna, Austria. The organisation is focusing on gradually improving the living conditions of animals under direct human influence, by revealing suffering, rescuing ...

due to the abuse of bears for baiting and using illegally for

dog fights A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every maj ...

on hunting stations.

History and description

Four Paws began building a new bear sanctuary in summer 2016 for the purpose of housing baiting bears, in addition to housing individual animals from other forms of bear keeping. The first construction phase was finalised in autumn 2017. After all construction is completed, the sanctuary will have the capacity to house up to 30 bears.The Four Paws Bear Sanctuary in Ukraine
Four-paws.org, January 9, 2019 Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr is situated in

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

, near

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, in the

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Roztochya Biosphere Reserve The Roztochia Biosphere Reserve ( uk, Розточчя, ''Roztochia'' or ''Roztochya'') (established 2011) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine. Roztochia has a total size of with its main economic activities including agriculture, stock-br ...

. The overall land plot area for establishing the sanctuary comprises approximately 20

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

. The first finalised area of 7.7 hectare provides space for ten bears with three outdoor enclosures offering a natural environment for the bears, and four smaller outdoor enclosures for the adaptation of the bears following their rescue.A Visit to Four Paws Bear Sanctuary in Ukraine
Unhype.com, August 22, 2018 The sanctuary provides a home and care for ten Ukrainian

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

s. The first bear, ''Potap'', was rescued and transferred to the sanctuary in July 2017, receiving the care by

keepers.Ukrainian Bear in Need
Ngopulse.org, March 8, 2012 The sanctuary has been open for visitors since October 2017. Like all

, Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr offers guided tours and exhibition tools for environmental education.Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr (Zhorniska) - 2019 All You Need to Know
Tripadvisor.com, February 8, 2019

References

External links

Four Paws: project ''Bear Sanctuary Domazhyr''
{{Coord, 49.9080, 23.8030, display=title Domazhyr Parks in Ukraine

History and description

See also

References

External links