(Tirana) After two decades in a small enclosure next to a chic establishment, a restaurant in Tirana, Mark, the brown bear, is finally free on Wednesday.
He will spend the rest of his life in the bear sanctuary of Arbesbach in Austria, managed by the association “Four paws”, which is involved in helping animals in difficult situations.
“Mark will have all the necessary veterinary treatment, proper care and species-appropriate food so that he can recover quickly and enjoy a life worthy of a bear,” reassures Sajmir Shehu, the Albanian coordinator of the project. wild animal rescue.
The restaurant will still bear the name “Sofra e Ariut (The Bear’s Table, editor’s note), but the cage where Mark and his sister Liza were kept to entertain the many visitors will be removed” so that no bears suffer there. never again”, underlines the administrator of the places, Aurel Bici.
Mark and his sister Liza, from the north of the country, were brought to the restaurant “for a good cause”, to give them refuge, their mother was shot dead and they too could have been victims of poaching.
They survived Tirana, but ended up in a locked cage, deprived of their freedom.
“Mark was in a tiny cage, the floor was concrete, the sanitation conditions unsuitable and with abnormal food for a brown bear,” says Mr Shehu.
Mark, who is obese, finds it difficult to move. He manifests anxiety disorders and becomes aggressive at the slightest noise.
His situation worsened after the death of his sister, Liza, two years ago.
“For two or three months after his death, he couldn’t stop crying,” Hiqmet Murati, who cared for the two bears, told AFP.
“In order for him to survive, Mark needs emergency care,” says biodiversity expert Mr. Shehu.
The experts at Quatres Pattes have found that Marc has problems with his joints, his muscles, his eyes but also with his vital organs.
Towards a new life
“In Arbesbach, he will receive veterinary treatment and professional care,” explains Magdalena Scherk-Trenttin, who coordinates the rescue of wild animals from Quatre Pattes.
Transferring it is far from easy. He weighs more than 250 kg and needs to be anesthetized and then given respiratory assistance.
The bear will benefit from better living conditions, but Sajmir Shehu regrets the fact that Mark will be the 34e wild animal to leave Albania.
Albania is considering opening a sanctuary for confiscated wild animals to reverse this trend.
Until then, Quatre Pattes’ work is far from over.
“Urgent action is also needed against the growing illegal wildlife trade in the country,” said Magdalena Scherk-Trettin.