International Fund for Animal WelfareA Better World for Animals and PeopleUrgent: Starving bear cubs left to die Your Help Is Needed to Make Sure these Orphan Cubs Survive1 month of infant bear care$251 month of formula for one baby bear$501 week of food for 3 adolescent bears$75 

Dear pirjo,

In Russia, wealthy hunters pay more than US$2,000 to rouse brown bears from hibernation and kill them.

The hunters' dogs dig and bark at the den while the hunters wait nearby with rifles poised. When the bear climbs out of the den, the hunters shoot and the bear's cubs are made orphans.

Each year 3,000 to 4,000 bear cubs are left with no chance of survival by the Russian bear hunt.

You are their only hope

Since 1995, IFAW has funded the Orphan Bear Project, run by world-renowned scientist Valentin Pazhetnov. More than 100 Russian bear cubs have been rescued by the Orphan Bear Project. Mr. Pazhetnov’s innovative techniques for raising and rehabilitating bear cubs have resulted in hundreds of bears being successfully released into the wild.

Most bear cubs when rescued weigh only one or two pounds and cannot survive without their mothers. But with your help, these tiny handfuls of fur will grow up to become healthy bears – eventually released into Russia’s protected forests.

The rescued cubs are bottle-fed warm milk formula five times a day, massaged after each feeding, and warmed with special carpets. Voices are never used while working with the cubs and human contact is kept to a minimum, enabling the cubs to successfully return to the wild without becoming tame.

The more contributions IFAW receives, the more cubs we can save

In many places in Europe, brown bears are extinct in the wild. The bears being hunted in Russia are from the last healthy brown bear population in the world.

IFAW has already successfully campaigned for a ban on den hunting in three Russian districts and is pushing hard for federal anti-cruelty legislation in the Russian Parliament. Together, we can make a real difference for these cubs and other animals around the world.

Please help now when the survival of these bears cubs is most at stake.

Sincerely,

Fred O’Regan
President and CEO

P.S. IFAW currently provides 100 percent of the Orphan Bear Centre’s operational costs, including salaries for the biologists, research equipment, supplies to care for the bears, vehicles for the rough terrain, and the construction of all the buildings.