A bear cub, approximately six months old, was freed this morning from a hotel forecourt by Kastoria Forest Service, in collaboration with the environmental organisation "Kallisto". The cub lost its orientation and got trapped in the courtyard of the hotel. The residents notified the Kastoria Forest Service, whose officials were immediately on the scene, together with "Kallisto" officials, as part of the operation of the Immediate Intervention Team.

A few hours earlier, passing citizens had seen the six-month-old bear with its mother in the forest. So it was decided that the little bear should be freed and pushed back to the mountain to be reunited with its mother, who was in the area. It is recalled that during this period, mother bears with their cubs are quite likely to appear near areas with human activity, as they are looking for food in fruit trees. Mother bears are overprotective of their cubs. For this reason, in case we come across a small bear alone, we do not approach it, as it is very likely that its mother is nearby and feels threatened by the human presence.

Of the two bears released by wildlife sanctuary Arcturos last week, only Bradley has managed to adapt to life in the wild. Cooper, who was the weaker of the two and weighed just 67 kg to Bradley's 80, was later found near the Triantafyllia dam in Florina and his transfer back to the Arcturos wildlife shelter was deemed necessary.

Arcturos environmental organisation in northern Greece spotted an advertisement on the internet for the sale of a young brown bear in Albania for 1,100 euros. The animal was confiscated and is now in the Arcturos sanctuary.