Main image via Daily Mail
Sometimes it’s hard to feel lonely but imaging 12-years of your life alone and stuck in a cage.
Jambolina suffered through just that but thankfully, the world’s loneliest bear is now free.
Image via Republic World
Animals are meant to roam free on this earth but sadly, there many that are still trapped in devastating situations.
A1 12-years-old, Jambolina the brown bear has spent her whole life in a cage and forced to perform tricks for a circus in Ukraine.
Thanks to the pandemic however, the zoo was closed and the owners were unable to afford to keep the bear.
Animals right organization, Four Paws, immediately saw the opportunity and stepped in to rescue her from her prison.
Image via Viral Tab
Though Four Paws has a rescue centre in Ukraine, the center was unable to take in Jambolina as they were already at capacity with 22 bears.
The organization then looked to Switzerland to help rescue the bear and Jambolina was sent on a 2,414km journey to freedom.
The bear travelled through Poland, Germany and Austria before she reach the Arosa Bear Land reserve in an Alpine mountain range paradise, just in time for hibernation.
Image via Daily Mail
Jambolina was extremely nervous about being in an open space when she first arrived at the sanctuary but according to scientific director Dr Hans Schmid, this behaviour was “completely natural”.
“Scepticism is an important survival strategy for animals and humans,” he said.
Image via Daily Mail
The bear has now emerged from her hibernation and she’s ready to enjoy her freedom in the 28,000 square-metre sanctuary - which is a far cry from the small cage that she was locked up in since she was bought as a cub and placed in it.
Footage shows the bear sniffing around her new home and cautiously looking outside before stepping onto the grass.
As soon as she does so, she runs down a green hill and splashes into a pond and cleans herself before exploring her new home.
Once Jambolina “gets familiar with the natural terrain after a few weeks”, she will be introduced to her own companions, Meimo and then Amelia, who were also rescued from traumatic experiences.
“Moments like this give me goosebumps and it’s just incredibly beautiful to see how we can give the bears a new life,” Four Paws Country Manager in Switzerland, Alexandra Mandoki said.
Ukraine allows people to own bears privately as long as the animals are born in captivity and have cages that are 322 square feet and 10 feet high.
Unfortunately, according to animal rights organisation, this is seldom monitored and many often go unpunished for breaching these laws.
Image via Daily Mail
We’re incredibly happy to hear that Jambolina is living free and is no longer the world’s loneliest bear!
Hopefully she will be able to adapt to her new environment and new friends soon so that she’ll be able to live a long and happy life.
Share this heartwarming tale with your loved ones!
Info via Metro