Meet Mark the Albanian brown bear, kept in a cage for 20 years, now in an Austrian sanctuary
- Mark was brought to Bear’s Table restaurant in Tirana as a cub 20 years ago with his sister Liza, who died in 2020; both of them were there for diners to watch
- Fed a poor diet and unable to hibernate, Mark is overweight, ill, stressed; Four Paws welfare group says he’s the 34th wild animal they’ve helped to move out of country
After more than two decades in a cage at an Albanian restaurant for diners to look at, brown bear Mark is heading towards a better life in an Austrian sanctuary.
Until now, he has spent his life entertaining visitors to the Sofra e Ariut (Bear’s Table) restaurant in Tirana along with his sister Liza.
But on Wednesday, under heavy anaesthetic, he started his journey to the Aberbasch shelter in northern Austria, thanks to the Four Paws animal welfare group.
However, the rescue operation came too late for his sister, who died two years ago.
Both bears were brought to the restaurant as cubs 20 years ago after their mother was shot dead, according to its then owners.
They lived in poor conditions in the 100 square metre (1,075 square feet) cage, which had a concrete floor, with an inadequate diet, said Sajmir Shehu, Four Paws project coordinator in Albania.