FREEDOM FOR MARK: Albania’s last ‘restaurant bear’ rescued after being kept in tiny cage for 20 years
TIRANA, ALBANIA: Albania's last 'restaurant bear' finally arrived at his new home in a wildlife sanctuary after spending 20 saddening years of his life in a tiny cage, where he slept on a concrete floor and nibbled only at a pile of bread and lettuce.
Mark, a 24-year-old brown bear, is the last of the so-called "restaurant bears", which have historically been kept in tiny cages near restaurants or hotels as an attraction for tourists in Tirana, Albania. Exposed to the looks of visitors, Mark spent his days locked up in a tiny cage next to a restaurant in Albania's capital. But his sad days came to an end on December 7, 2022, when Four Paws, an animal welfare group, rescued him after decades-long captivity.
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Mark traveled through North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary before finally reaching his new home at “BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach” in Austria on Friday, December 9. At the wildlife sanctuary, Mark will finally get chances to explore his natural snowy habitat with appropriate food and the opportunity to continue his hibernation cycle.
“We made regular stops for our accompanying vet to check on him and fed him with fruits and vegetables,” Magdalena Scherk-Trettin, who coordinates Four Paws’ wild animal rescue and advocacy projects, said in the release. “After receiving an inappropriate diet of restaurant leftovers and mainly bread for two decades, he was a little reluctant about the vegetables, but munched happily on the grapes we gave him,” she added.
Scherk-Trettin noted that Mark was only a cub when he was brought to the Sofra e Ariut (Bear's Table) restaurant. However, there are no official records of how and when Mark was captured. The animal welfare group also revealed when they first met Mark, he was suffering from several physical and health problems.
They stated he was overweight and displayed “abnormal” behaviors like pacing due to the lack of stimulation in his cramped cage. Looking at his condition, the group mounted pressure on the owners and made them voluntarily release Mark. "Today I am not feeling good because they are taking the bear away. We have been used to living with (him)," said Misir Maxhuku, whose duties have included caring for Mark for the past four years.
“With Mark’s rescue we ended the cruel practice of keeping him next to a restaurant to attract and entertain visitors,” Four Paws President Josef Pfabigan said in the release. “We are now one step closer to a world where people treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding.”
