Rescued Bears Max and Minnie Thrive After Years in Captivity
By Animals Correspondent
Max and Minnie, two caged bears rescued from horrific conditions in Armenia, are making the most of life, as new photos and footage of them show.
Giant Siberian bear Max and diminutive Minnie were rescued from a bus depot in 2018 after years behind bars. It took a year to persuade the bears’ captor to agree to their rescue. While we fought for their release, the bears languished in squalor, gazing from their cage at the world outside.
Finally, all obstacles were overcome and the rescue plan was put in place.
Weighing in at 500kg, the male bear, named Max, was far too large for a standard transport crate and had to be moved in a horse trailer. Minnie, a female Syrian brown bear, was small enough to be transported on a deep bed of straw in a transport crate.
The rescue team included four vets from Armenia, Iran and the UK, and the vital assistance of the local emergency rescue services.
Once Max had been anaesthetised with a blow dart, the rescue crew set about cutting through the bars of the cage.
After the rescue, Alan Knight OBE, IAR President, said:
“The cage door had been welded shut – a clear indication that, had it not been for our mercy mission, the two bears would have been kept in that cage for the rest of their lives.
"They were being kept in deplorable conditions and we were desperate to set them free. We knew it would be a challenging rescue because of the size of the male bear. He is the biggest bear we’ve rescued to date. Now we can work to give Max and Minnie the life and the loving care they deserve after so many years of misery.”
On arrival at the wildlife rescue centre in Urtsadzor, the two bears were placed in quarantine for several weeks to monitor their health and carry out tests for various diseases.
At the end of that period, having been given a clean bill of health, the pair were released into an outdoor enclosure where they could feel the earth under their paws and mountain breeze on their backs, probably for the first time in their lives.
Since then, Max and Minnie have adapted to their increased freedom, learning not only to forage for food hidden around their enclosure, but even responding to their natural bear instincts and going into hibernation in winter.
Seven years after their rescue, Max and Minnie have been captured on camera making the most of the still warm weather in Armenia as they prepare for winter.
Like all the bears in the sanctuary, they enjoy regular enrichment sessions to keep them active and inquisitive. Their pool is also cleaned out and refilled regularly, ready for splashing and apple bobbing.
Their diet now supports their transition to winter hibernation, with plenty of seasonal fruits, pumpkins and vegetables, along with fish and meat. Both bears have built up a healthy layer of fat for the colder months ahead.
In terms of personality, the keepers report that “Max, as always, is the playful one, climbing trees, tossing logs and balls into the pool and keeping everyone entertained.” Meanwhile, Minnie leaves the hard work of shaking apples out of the wobble tree to Max, while she waits patiently to retrieve her share of the fallen fruit.
Alan Knight concludes: “It’s heartwarming to see how healthy and playful Max and Minnie are after all the years they spent in a cage. We’re so grateful to everyone who has supported their rescue and rehabilitation. These images show that even after years of cruelty and neglect, bears like Max and Minnie can learn to enjoy life to the full.
