THE world’s loneliest bear has been trapped in a small, rotting cage for over 23 years as locals come to see the “traumatised” bear and jab him with sharp sticks for their entertainment.
Baloo the bear gets fed cornflakes for dinner and is regularly forced to drink lemonade and even booze to help him get through the endless days of torment in his Romanian cage.
The poor brown bear has been forced to live in horror conditions for over two decades now all on his own.
Baloo’s rotting cage has been left seemingly untouched for years as the bear is forced to roam around a small enclosed space dubbed a “mountainside prison” where the ground is ripped to shreds and kicking up mud and dust.
Rough and decaying fences have fallen apart and lie inside the enclosure and the once green wire fence responsible for trapping Baloo in solitary confinement has been rusting for years and now sits covered in a murky shade of brown.
And no proper roof to protect Baloo from torrential rain or hardly any toys or anything to play with outside of a lump of cracked, moss covered rock as the bear spends his days alone.
Sanne Kuijpers – the Wild Animals Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection – said: “The conditions in which Baloo now lives are degrading to animals.
“The bear gets cereal, lemonade and even alcohol. He’s been in solitary confinement for nearly a quarter of a century and kids are jabbing him through the bars with sticks.
“The bear is visibly traumatised. This is no life for a bear. That is why we draw international attention to Baloo’s fate and hope that he can be freed soon.”
Despite Baloo clearly being in distress the “crazy drunk bear” living in a Romanian prison on top of a mountain certainly attracts visitors.
Kids flood to see Baloo most days but the exhausted and lethargic animal can’t perform for them like he once could.
This is due to a mixture of him getting old but also fed up and hungry for proper food.
His diet allegedly consists of cereal like cornflakes and the occasional bottle of fizzy drinks and alcohol to perk the beautiful beast up so he can perform for visitors.
Tourists can often be seen poking and jabbing the bear with sticks especially young children as Baloo staggers around his cage drunk for the apparent entertainment of the onlookers.
Videos have also emerged in the past of people cruelly sticking bottles of beer and sandwiches through the dishevelled chain links that separate him from freedom.
The World Animal Protection charity has been campaigning for the bears immediate release after what they described as a “nightmare” situation for Baloo to be in.
A plea on their website titled: “Help save Baloo: a bear trapped in a cage for the last 23-years,” details the tragic situation and highlights the need for animals such as Baloo to be saved from these sorts of situations.
Their statement said: “Baloo the bear has been locked up in a cage at a ski resort in Romania under horrific conditions for 23 years but together with our supporters around the world, we are working to rescue Baloo from this nightmare.”
“Baloo has been living on display in a tiny cage next to a ski lift and is poorly cared for.
“He is fed cornflakes and lemonade, sometimes even alcohol to drink, and children frequently poke him through the bars of the cage with sticks. This is no life for a bear.”
The bear was first discovered in the dark depths of the Romanian wilderness in 2000 with a nasty injury that prevented him from finding food and keeping safe.
At the time of Baloo’s capture he was just a young bear cub.
Park rangers took him to safety were he was given potentially life saving medical care and expected to be released back into the wild.
However, instead of being allowed to go home, Baloo was shipped off to live in a cage on a private ski resort in Eastern Europe where he’s been kept for the past two decades.
Baloo’s safe release has been at the heart of animal campaign groups for years but has always fallen on deaf ears by the Romanian government despite strict laws on keeping bears.
A ban was put in place in 2005 by the Romanian government that was meant to stop any individual from owning a bear outside of proper licensed animal centres and parks.
The charity have urged authorities that now is the time to take action and save the poor bear from anymore torment.
They even suggested bringing the bear to a nearby sanctuary to be alongside hundreds of other rescued animals.
They went on to say: “Together, we can free Baloo from this suffering. Baloo would find a warm welcome at Libearty bear sanctuary – an expansive haven spanning 69-hectares of forest, meadows, and ponds.
“It is the perfect new home for Baloo. He would join 119 other formerly abused bears who now call this sanctuary their home.
“At Libearty, Baloo would have the chance to live in peace, with the best care and in a natural environment where he can recover from his traumatic life.”
The bear has been the cruel mascot for the Straja ski resort in Romania since he was captured and given to the resort in 2000.
The resort even has a bear statue on top of the mountain as they glorify the bear they keep in captivity and refuse to give up to any charity looking to keep him safe.
He has been made to drink alcohol and eat cerealCredit: Jasper Doest
