{{refimprove, date=April 2019 The Bear Sanctuary Belitsa (formerly ''Dancing Bears Park Belitsa'')bear sanctuary belitsa 20 year anniversary and a new name
Four-Paws.org May 5, 2022 is a project of

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 ...

and the

Brigitte Bardot Foundation The Brigitte Bardot Foundation (in French: Fondation Brigitte Bardot - FBB) is a French foundation dedicated to animal protection created by French actress Brigitte Bardot in 1986. Since 1992, the foundation has been recognized as a "public utili ...

near the town of

Belitsa BelitsaTown of Belitsa, Municipality Belitsa ...

in South West

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and provides mistreated and neglected

brown bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share t ...

with a home.

History & objective

Since 2000, the park provides a home for

that were kept in inadequate conditions, especially for those bears that have been raised and trained as dancing bears. When the sanctuary was established in 2000, there were more than 20 dancing bears in

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. The animal welfare organisation

took measures against illegal practices, and in cooperation with French

, established the park.Bulgaria
Books.google.com February 10, 2019, Page 121 As there are no more ''dancing bears'' to rescue, the name changed to ''Bear Sanctuary Belitsa'' in May 2022.bear sanctuary belitsa 20 year anniversary and a new name
Four-Paws.org May 5, 2022

Location & size

''Dancing Bears Park Belitsa'' is located in

Rila Mountain Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an elevation of 2,925 ...

at about 180 kilometres south of

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, 12 kilometres from town

Belitsa BelitsaTown of Belitsa, Municipality Belitsa ...

and about 35 kilometres from

Bansko Bansko ( bg, Банско ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin, Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m AMSL, above sea level. It is a ski resort. Legends There are several legends about who founded Bansko. Ac ...

. The whole area of the sanctuary comprises 120,000 square metres, divided into seven open air enclosures for the bears. The sanctuary offers dense forests and hills for roaming and seclusion, ponds for swimming and artificial dens.Belitsa sanctuary
Four-paws.org.uk February 10, 2019

Number of bears & their origin

Since 2000, 31 former dancing bears from

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, 4 bears from Bulgarian zoos and 2 young bears originating from private keeping conditions were rescued and housed in the park. In January 2019 there are 25 bears living in the several open-air enclosures of the sanctuary. The first three bears that were rescued and transferred to the park in 2000 were ''"Kalina"'', ''"Mariana"'' and ''"Stefan"''. In 2007 the last three dancing bears of Bulgaria were transferred and in 2009 the last three dancing bears from Serbia were also accommodated in the sanctuary.Dancing Bear Park
Vacationbansko.co.uk February 10, 2019

Education & visitor service

''Dancing Bears Park Belitsa'' is open from April until December. The guided tours offer visitors information about the conditions in which the bears suffered before they were rescued, as well as to raise awareness about the main natural requirements of brown bear species and its conservation.
Tripadvisor.com February 10, 2019

References

External links