by Elena Sobkova
[REGNUM] A true tragedy unfolded in Primorye: a Himalayan bear mother died while her lone cubs were left in her den. The cubs, on the brink of death, were brought to the Tiger Rehabilitation Center.
What staff must do to nurse bear cubs back to health, and why this is a systemic problem, is covered in the Regnum news agency article.
THEY WILL BE RELEASED IN THE SUMMER
Animal rights activists discovered orphaned Himalayan bear cubs in a hollow tree. Their mother was absent, and the cubs were on the verge of death. Despite reports, the Primorsky rehabilitation center has not confirmed that the bear's death was the result of poaching, Ekaterina Pazhetnova of the Orphaned Bear Rescue Center in the Tver Region told Regnum news agency. They had been in contact with "Tiger" almost from the beginning of the incident.
"If someone disturbs an animal in its winter den in winter, it abandons it out of fear of being killed and never returns. This is how orphaned bear cubs, unable to survive on their own, are born. This applies to both brown and Himalayan bear cubs. In the Far East, this happens every year," Pazhetnova explained.
The most critical need of newborn bear cubs is warmth. Unlike hunger, which they can tolerate for a while, cold and drafts are deadly for them and can lead to death. Brown bear cubs are born tiny—about 500 grams, and Himalayan bears are even smaller.
At this age, they are completely helpless: their bodies are not yet fully formed and do not function at full capacity. The cubs are covered with sparse fur, their eyes and ears are closed, and they are unable to keep warm on their own.
However, providing warmth is only the first step for those taking care of them. Proper housing and feeding are next. During the first weeks of life, bear cubs eat very frequently—every hour and a half.
They also need abdominal massage—an essential procedure to stimulate digestion. At this age, they can't do this on their own.
The bear cubs will only be released into the wild in the summer.
"Our rehabilitation work, which has been ongoing for over 30 years, has shown that bears reach independence at around seven months of age, that is, by July. They can feed themselves, identify danger, understand its scope, and take appropriate action. They understand when to immediately save themselves—run away or climb trees and wait out the threat," Pazhetnova explained.
It's worth noting that people regularly come to the aid of lonely wild animal cubs. For example, in Primorye, in March 2025, the Ministry of Emergency Situations rescued a spotted seal pup, which had been lost on an ice floe for several days. It was sent to a marine animal rehabilitation center.
Bear cubs were also rescued in the Krasnoyarsk Territory—a month-old cub was transferred to the Instinct Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. In May 2025, employees of the Ministry of Forestry rescued a week-old moose calf in the Penza Region.
And in December 2025, in the Komsomolsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, a married couple rescued a motherless tiger cub from starvation. Its brother had died.
In January of this year, the aforementioned Tiger Center took in two orphaned tiger cubs—they had lost their mother, who had been killed by poachers, and were found in critical condition.
TROPHY LOVERS
Although there is no evidence of illegal hunting in this particular case, the birth of lone wild animal cubs is often the result of both legal hunters and poachers. Bears, as the largest mammals in our forests, traditionally attract those seeking a large trophy.
One of the most high-profile cases of not a hunt, but a real murder, is the scandal involving the former governor of the Irkutsk region, Sergei Levchenko.
In September 2018, a video surfaced showing Levchenko shooting a bear in the head while it was sleeping in its den. Everyone, including hunters, criticized the shooting, claiming that killing a sleeping animal directly violates hunting ethics.
The politician claimed the hunt was legal, took place within the permitted timeframe, and that the bear was a stray animal and posed a danger. However, footage of the sleeping bear, as well as the criminal case, suggested otherwise.
In October 2021, Valery Rashkin, a Communist Party State Duma deputy and Levchenko's fellow party member, was detained in a forest in the Saratov region. A butchered moose carcass was found in the trunk of his car.
At first, the politician claimed he found the carcass by accident, but later recorded a video confession in which he stated that he mistook the moose for a wild boar due to poor visibility and the lack of binoculars.
Soon, Rashkin was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and given a three-year suspended sentence for illegal hunting, and was then officially stripped of his parliamentary mandate.
SELFIE WITH A WILD ANIMAL
The coexistence of wild animals and humans is a long-standing problem that remains relevant to this day.
Incidents of encounters between people and wild animals that end in conflict, injury, and sometimes even death are, unfortunately, not uncommon.
According to experts, 99% of such encounters are provoked by humans. For example, people chase a wild animal for a selfie. Many don't try to avoid the encounter, but rather approach it to take a photo. While this might be possible with a squirrel, it's a deadly risk with a bear.
A predator doesn't attack immediately, but it maintains a personal safety distance. As soon as a human violates this distance, the animal feels threatened—to itself, its young, or its prey. In such a situation, the bear is forced to defend itself. The outcome of the conflict is often tragic for the human.
The news usually portrays the animal as the aggressor, although the real provocateur is the person who invades their personal space, says Ekaterina Pazhetnova.