TIRANA (HRNW) – After more than two decades in a cage at an Albanian restaurant for diners to look at, brown bear Mark is heading towards a better life in an Austrian sanctuary.
Until now, he has spent his life entertaining visitors to the Sofra e Ariut (Bear s Table) restaurant in Tirana along with his sister Liza.
But on Wednesday, under heavy anaesthetic, he started his journey to the Aberbasch shelter in northern Austria, thanks to the Four Paws animal welfare group.
Their rescue operation came too late for his sister however. She died two years ago.
Both bears were brought to the restaurant as cubs two decades ago after their mother was shot dead, according to its then owners.
There, they lived in the cage of some 100 square metres (1,075 square feet), with concrete floor, in poor conditions and on an inadequate diet, said Sajmir Shehu, the Four Paws project coordinator in Albania.
Left out in the open and at the mercy of extreme weather the bears were never allowed to hibernate, said Four Paws.
Now Mark, at 250 kilos (550 pounds) is overweight and has difficulties moving. Due to boredom and stress he has developed anxiety disorders, becoming aggressive and growling at the slightest noise.