A peaceful day in the Rila Mountains visiting the incredible residents at Bear Sanctuary Belitsa 🌲🐻

Knowing that these beautiful brown bears are finally living a life filled with safety, open spaces, and endless treats makes these photos so much more special. Big shoutout to Four Paws and the Fondation Brigitte Bardot for giving them the second chance they deserve. 💚✨

📜 History

For generations, "dancing bears" were a roadside attraction in Bulgaria, taken as cubs and trained with cruel methods like hot metal plates and rings through their noses. The practice was banned in 1998, but it didn't truly end until Four Paws rescued the last Bulgarian dancing bears in 2007. The sanctuary opened in 2000 as Dancing Bears Park Belitsa, built specifically to give these bears a forever home. The last Serbian dancing bears arrived in 2009, and in 2017 the final one from Albania came here, closing that dark chapter in Europe for good. 🙏

🏡 Today

With no dancing bears left to rescue, the park was renamed Bear Sanctuary Belitsa in 2022 and now takes in bears from substandard zoos and private captivity. Around 18 bears live here, coming from Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, and even Argentina. Here they get to just be bears: dig, swim, hide in the forest, and hibernate, which rarely happens in captivity.

📰 Latest News

🇺🇦 Autumn 2025: Frol and Frosia arrived from Ukraine
🎉 September 2025: the sanctuary celebrated its 25th anniversary with a renovated visitor centre
✈️ February 2026: Gordo and Florencia became the first bears ever flown from South America to Bulgaria, after ~16 years in tiny zoo cages in Argentina
💔 Spring 2026: the sanctuary said goodbye to Rada, a beloved former dancing bear, at the age of 34
😴 Fun fact: Mima was the sleepiest bear of the last season, hibernating for 165 days!

📍 Bear Sanctuary Belitsa, Bulgaria 🇧🇬
🗓️ Open April to November
☀️ Best time to visit June - July, highly active
🍂 Cozy winter prep in the autumn - hibernating
🚫 Please don't feed the bears or make loud noises
🌐 https://www.bearsanctuary-belitsa.org/