Traumatized By War, Ukrainian Bear Adopted By Scottish Zoo

Yampil Bear. (Source: Five Sisters Zoo)

JAKARTA - An Asian black bear, which was severely traumatized at a Russian-occupied Ukrainian zoo, will be adopted by a zoo in Scotland.

In October 2022, according to a post on social media of Ukraine's rescue center, Ukrainian soldiers entered a zoo abandoned in Yamapil Village, Donetsk, which is under Russian occupation. They found nearly all the animals in the zoo totaling 200 were killed.

A 12-year-old bear is one of the few bears still alive. He was also seriously injured, suffering a concussion when a bullet exploded near his cage and in just a few days he will die, according to a statement issued by the Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland.

Now, the Yampil bear whose name is taken from the village where he was found will start a new life after being adopted by the Scottish zoo, after a rescue operation that has so far carried him across the European continent from Ukraine to Poland to Belgium.

He will head to his new home, 20 miles west of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, early next year.

It is known that the war that Russia is fighting in Ukraine has made animals and humans refugees and killed many animals. because the refugees were forced to leave their pets while fleeing, and it is almost impossible to care for animals in the zoo.

"Wars and conflicts are terrible and very traumatic for many people. Often we forget that this also causes trauma to animals," Romain Pizzi, chief veterinarian at Five Sisters, told CNN.

Speaking via video call from outside Yamapil's cage at the wildlife rescue charity Natuurhulpcentrum in northeastern Belgium, he said: "There are many species like Asian black bears that are really intelligent."

Like humans, animals can also suffer from long-term trauma and require special care.

Pizzi and zoo carnivore chief Gary Curran visited Yamapil at the animal rescue center, where the animal had the opportunity to "removing stress" and was monitored if there were health problems.

"We want to make sure what we build for him as a shelter in Scotland will meet his needs and that need will be specific to him, depending on what trauma he experienced and what maladaptive behavior he might have experienced at that time," Pizzi said.

The Five Sisters Zoo first heard of Yampil through Natuurhulpcentrum. The zoo once rescued bears and other animals in the past, where most of the animals came from circuses and roadside restaurants.

"I'm very emotional about it and can't imagine some of the things he's been through," Curran said.

"So we really want to do our best to make sure that we create a home for the rest of his life and whatever the costs," he said.

The zoo said in a statement it needed an investment of around 200,000 pounds for Yamapil's new home. They invite people to donate to help him achieve the total investment.