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Four rescued bears have met together for the first time in a plush animal sanctuary in Switzerland.
Bear siblings Jamila and Sam met two furry new roommates named Amelia and Meimo at the Arosa Bear Sanctuary in Graubuenden, Switzerland, on Wednesday, 5th October.
This was after Jamila and Sam, two recent arrivals at the Arosa Bear Sanctuary, were transferred from a dreary zoo in North Macedonia to the 2.8-hectare green paradise found in the Swiss Alps in May.
Jamila and Sam were kept in separate enclosures in the Skopje Zoo in North Macedonia and were brought together for the first time during a heartwarming moment captured on video at the Swiss sanctuary.
The four bears were then socialised in pairs and engaged in typical “ranking fights” in order to establish a hierarchy in their future enclosure as they gradually got to know each other over the Summer, according to a statement Newsflash obtained from the Arosa Bear Sanctuary.
Dr Hans Schmid, the scientific director of the Arosa Bear Sanctuary, finally decided the time was right to introduce the four bears to each other in front of a crowd of delighted spectators after months of brief furry meet-ups.
He told local media: “Now that we have seen that the four bears accept each other and that the hierarchy has been clarified, we can take the next step.”
Veteran Arosa Bear Sanctuary residents Amelia and Meimo were then released into their large outdoor enclosure on the sunny October morning along with new arrivals Jamila and Sam.
Both pairs were on the lookout for food and kept a respectful distance from each other, according to Schmid.
He added: “Since the hierarchy was already clear, the dominant animals continued walking and the subdominant animals kept the individual distance.”
The scientific director went on to explain that Sam is the most dominant bear in the group, despite the fact that he only arrived in May.
He added: “It sounds hard at first, but it’s completely natural.
“The size of the facility of almost three hectares and the natural landscape with rocks, trees, pastures, bushes and caves offers enough alternatives for Amelia, Jamila, Sam and Meimo.
The bears can easily avoid each other and look for food in a relaxed manner.”
Arosa Bear Sanctuary officials went on to explain that they hope that the bears will make use of the entire 2.8-hectare outdoor enclosure designed to mimic the bears’ natural environment.
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