World News for Students of English

11-12-2017 15:00

A bear sanctuary in Ukraine is providing a safe haven for bears which were abused in captivity. An animal behaviourist said that they show a lot of stereotypic behaviour like pacing or tossing the head around, which means that they suffered from a stressful situation or are still in distress. There are cylinders filled with food in the bear enclosure, which help mentally stimulate the bears and reduce their stress.

Brown bears are often illegally trapped in Ukraine and kept in terrible conditions. An international animal charity, named Four Paws, rescued Potap the bear who spent 9 months locked in a cage.

A person from the sanctuary said that there are around 200 bears left in the wild in Ukraine and 200 more in captivity. Those live at hunting stations, restaurants, hotels, mobile zoos, circuses, or are used to train hunting dogs.

Sometimes, concerned citizens contact the sanctuary when they see a suffering bear and ask the institution for help. People plan that the sanctuary will triple its size to house more of the animals in need.

Difficult words: sanctuary (a safe place), haven (a safe place), abuse (treat with cruelty or violence), pacing (walking around quickly because you are under stress), toss (move around quickly), enclosure (an area for an animal), concerned (worried), citizen (person).

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