Ljubljana/Vienna, 26 November 2025 – On Tuesday evening, Mici, one of the last two brown bears kept in private captivity in Slovenia, arrived safely at her new home in BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach, located 150 km north-west of Vienna. After being on display at a restaurant in Žirovnica near Bled her entire life, global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS rescued the 23-year-old female. Mici finally gets to recover in a forest-like enclosure with trees, her own pond and species-appropriate care. With her rescue, Tim is the last remaining bear in private captivity in Slovenia. FOUR PAWS is calling on his owner to hand him over voluntarily, so Tim can receive much-needed veterinary care as soon as possible.

“Today marks an important day for the welfare of privately kept bears in Slovenia. Mici’s story has finally taken a hopeful turn. We sincerely thank her owner for taking the right decision and voluntarily handing her over, allowing Mici to enjoy a better future. However, we remain deeply concerned about bear Tim, who urgently needs veterinary attention and a species-appropriate home. We stand ready to offer him a better life at BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach,” says Magdalena Scherk-Trettin, responsible for rescues at FOUR PAWS.

Mici’s journey: from a barren enclosure to a forest-like home

A preliminary check found Mici to be fit for transport and in relatively good health. Mici was calm and responded well to the team. However, she is suffering from dental issues, which is very common in bears from private captivity and her age. Two of her canines in her upper jaw are broken or worn down and will be treated after she has settled in at her new home. To closely monitor Mici during the seven-hour transfer to Austria, she was accompanied by a wildlife veterinarian.

Mici spent her entire life in a barren enclosure next to a restaurant. The constant spotlight has put the female brown bear under considerable stress. At BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach, a specialised team will take care of her wellbeing and develop a tailored enrichment plan to stimulate her physically and psychologically. She will receive a bear friendly diet and medical care, if needed. In her new home, Mici will spend the first weeks in a smaller adaption enclosure for quarantine reasons. Then, the female bear will get access to a big outdoor enclosure with plenty of trees and bushes to retreat.

Bear Felix might hibernate for the first time

Arbesbach has recently also become the home of another bear from Slovenia. Felix, who was rescued in May, has settled in very well and particularly enjoys his outdoor enclosure. The 34-year-old male brown bear is currently putting on weight by feasting on calorie-rich food, such as walnuts, and fruits like pears and grapes. He also likes to withdraw and make himself comfortable in his den in a cozy bed of straw. Both can be signs that Felix could go into hibernation this winter for the very first time in his life. During hibernation, which can start between October to December and last until March or April, bears lower their heart rate and breathing frequency and lose about a third of their weight. Unlike other species who go into a deep form of hibernation, bears can wake up easily, making their winter’s rest a lighter form of dormancy. As Mici just arrived at Arbesbach, it remains to be seen, if she will decide to go into hibernation for the first time in her life or if she needs more time to settle in.

FOUR PAWS campaign for bears in Slovenia

Since autumn 2022, FOUR PAWS has been advocating to rescue five bears from inappropriate private keeping in Slovenia. In 2024, a public campaign received overwhelming public support, with over 100,000 people worldwide joining the call to end the suffering of bears held at three restaurants and a private zoo. Unfortunately, two bears passed away last year before they could get rescued by FOUR PAWS. Two major milestones were reached this year: In May 2025 bear Felix and in November bear Mici were successfully rescued. Now Tim is Slovenia’s last bear living in inappropriate private keeping at an unlicensed zoo near Ljubljana. The animal welfare organisation is asking his owner to hand over Tim as soon as possible, even before a planned ban on the private keeping of bears will come into force, which will make his current keeping illegal.

BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach (BÄRENWALD Arbesbach) in Austria is one of the 13 wild animal sanctuaries and cooperation projects by the global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS. In 1998, it opened as FOUR PAWS’ first wild animal sanctuary to provide a safe haven for bears kept in poor conditions. Just recently, BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach was enlarged from 16,000 m² to 24,000 m². The sanctuary has seven large outdoor enclosures, which are several thousand square meters in size and offer natural environments for its bears. The sanctuary provides an appropriate, lifelong home for bears that were kept in inadequate conditions in circuses, private captivity and zoos. The sanctuary is currently home to five bears: Brumca, Erich, Felix, Dunbar and Mici.