Since its conception in 2005, the Romanian Bear Sanctuary has grown to become the country's epicentre for the care of rescued brown bears and one of the largest bear sanctuaries in Europe.

Situated in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, near the city of Brasov, volunteers will spend their days in the forest, at the bear sanctuary. Working closely with the full time members of staff, volunteers become part of this on-going rescue endeavour to safely rehouse suffering bears. Each day, volunteers work around the sanctuary, helping to prepare food, feeding and monitoring the bears, assisting with sanctuary tours and general bear conservation tasks.

 

Itinerary

Day 1

Volunteers fly into Bucharest Airport and transfer to the project site. The transfer takes 2-3 hours. Once there the project coordinator will help you settle into your accommodation, before providing you your project orientation.

Day 2-13

Project Days. Volunteers generally work at the bear sanctuary Monday to Friday each week. The day begins with a 9:00am start and transfer from the accommodation to sanctuary. There will be a stop at a supermarket on route to pick up some out of date food for the bears.

Free days can be spent exploring the area and the surrounding countryside! There is the option of joining 2 excursions to Dracula's castle and Peles castle (transport including in the trip price)

Day 14

Final Day. Transfer from the project site back to the airport for a return flight, or any other travel plans.

Project Activities

On this project y there is the chance to take part in a wide variety of exciting activities. Here are some examples:

Food preparation

Volunteers will start their day by sorting and preparing all the produce (meat, fruit, vegetables, bread and dairy products). A key part of this will be assisting in preparing and delivering the bears’ food.

Feeding

Once the food is prepared, volunteers can feed the bears by chucking the food over the sides of the enclosures, and  feeding the cubs separately. It’s amazing to see the bears coming out of hiding to catch the best bits! All the other animals in the sanctuary such as horses, donkeys, deer, wolves and a fox also need to eat, so volunteers will also help feeding these.

Monitoring

Monitoring the bears and their behaviour, hibernation, interaction and health is key to see how they are adjusting to life outside.

Construction and Maintenance

Hands on construciton and maintenance within the sanctuary to ensure it is ready for the upcoming Winter.

Sanctuary tours

Volunteers help to educate various groups about the importance of animal welfare.