Life in the wilderness can be extremely tough for an orphaned animal, even though it is one of the largest predators on Earth. This baby polar bear found herself in a desperate situation, after her mom sadly passed away!
With the polar bear cubs relying on their mothers to feed and protect them until they’re around 2,5-3 years old, the fate seemed to be sealed for this several months old little one, after she remained orphaned. Fortunately for her, the help come from an unlikely place! At this age, the polar bear cub was struggling to feed herself. Hungry and confused, the young female approached a group of Arctic gold mine workers, and begged for some food.
The bear was all alone on the island Bolsehvik, on the Russian territory of the Arctic Circle. She was attracted by the smell of food coming from a group of people that were working at a gold mine on the island. Although there are extremely strict rules that forbid the feeding of polar bears, the miners have broken them in order to save the starving animal.
For several months, the polar bear remained close to the people that saved her. She even spent her time cuddling with them. However, when the gold miners contract came to an end, they had to leave the island, and leave the polar bear alone, once again. But they were ready to do everything in their power to help the poor creature to get rescued. Their efforts eventually paid off!
“The workers could only get in touch with us at the end of their work stint, as they had no communication link at the base,” Andrey Gorban, director of Royev Ruchei Zoo, explained. “We were told that the men were leaving back to the mainland, and the cub had stayed there alone, so our only hope was that they left quite a big open rubbish site, so there was a chance that the cub could feed off it for weeks.”
After a few weeks, the polar bear was finally rescued at taken at the Moscow Zoo, from where she might be relocated to a permanent home. But that won’t be in the wild though, as she had too much contact with people. Anyway, if it wasn’t these workers, the bear would have been gone for a long time. Actually, the miners decision of breaking the no feeding rules was eventually praised by the wildlife officials.
“For right or wrong, they fed the endangered animal and through that tamed her,” Andrey Gorban said. “The workers saved its life, the cub had no chance to survive.”
