After years of abuse, circus bear finally gets a happy home

A bear stands in a shelter for bears rescued from circuses and private restaurants of Ukraine, near Zhytomyr, some 150 km west of Kiev. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

Updated on: Apr 19, 2017 9:25 AM IST

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A bear stands in a shelter for bears rescued from circuses and private restaurants of Ukraine, near Zhytomyr, some 150 km west of Kiev. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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Tortured for years by humans, the animals have received a second lease of life in the city of Zhytomyr in northwestern Ukraine. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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Opened in 2012 by the Vienna-based animal welfare charity Four Paws, the shelter soon became one of the region’s prime attractions. (Sergei Supinsky/ AFP)

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The whole shelter was initially built for only one bear named Nastya, who was seized from her mother when she was three months old and sold to a private zoo.It took two months for volunteers to find her and return her to her birthplace, but Nastya’s mother refused to accept her as her own. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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A brown bear stands on a log in an artificial lake in a shelter for bears rescued. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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Four Paws plans to open another large shelter for bears in the western Lviv region in September 2017 to bring them closer to their natural habitat. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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Brown bears play in a shelter for bears rescued from circuses and private restaurants of Ukraine, near Zhytomyr, some 150km west of Kiev. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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A keeper carries food in a shelter for bears rescued , near Zhytomyr, some 150 km west of Kiev. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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A brown bear swims in an artificial lake in a shelter. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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A brown bear relaxes in an artificial lake . (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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School children look at a bear as they visit a shelter for bears rescued from circuses and private restaurants of Ukraine. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)

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A brown bear reacts to a quadrocopter drone launched by a visitor. (Sergei Supinsky / AFP)