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The luxury hotel provided more than a ton of fresh fruits to Bear Sanctuary Belitsa on October 25th, 2023. Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko continued its initiative "One team, one goal-one ton of food" for the eleventh year in a row. The donation is deliberately planned in the month of October, because the bears are preparing for hibernation and need more food and vitamins. Each time the food is hidden in different places so that the bears can search and find it themselves, just as it happens in nature.
Bear Sanctuary Belitsa is a protected place in Bulgaria that provides special care for rescued brown bears. Founded in the year 2000 the sanctuary is a joint project between the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and Four Paws. It is currently home to 17 bears ranging in age from 8 to 34 years old. Each of them has its own territory and enough space to move freely and climb. Most of the inhabitants of the park are former "dancing bears" rescued by their previous owners who used them to entertain tourists in various resorts in Bulgaria, as well as from other Balkan countries - Serbia, Albania, Croatia and North Macedonia. Apart from them, the park also shelters bears that have suffered from bad human intervention - bred in captivity or under unfavorable conditions, zoos, circuses and hotels. In the sanctuary, they go through a process of adaptation and rehabilitation to recover from their previous life in captivity in an environment close to their natural habitat with lots of trees, water pools and dens, as well as additional environmental enrichment and games to keep them curious and active. More information about Bear Sanctuary Belitsa can be found at: https://www.bearsanctuary-belitsa.org/.

On the occasion of the visit, the General Manager of Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko Rene Detzen (third from left to right) commented: "It is very sad that the bears were subjected to such torture, but fortunately they are now back in the wild and receiving proper care in a safe living environment. I would like to express my respect to the people who care for the rescued bears and assure that Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko will continue to support them in their noble mission."