Croatia Project:
Kuterevo Bear Sanctuary
Eleanor Varley, Danielle Aspinall, Amy Fagan, Zoe Vaughan, Shannon Gill, Tom Stockbridge, Rachael Wilkinson, Kieran Wright European Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
Kuterevo Bear Refuge Founded in 2002, the Kuterevo Bear Refuge is currently home to 8 bears; 7 of whom were orphaned in the wild and were raised in captivity. The refuge consists of three enclosures; one holds three younger bears – Marko Kralj (born 2012), Mlada Gora and Mlad Dol (both born 2010). The second enclosure holds four adult males and the third is occupied by one elderly female – Mirna (born 1984). Deaf and blind, she was rescued from appalling conditions in Split Zoo and came to the sanctuary in 2015. Other animals cared for by the refuge include a herd of Shetland ponies (also rescued from Split Zoo), dogs, a chicken, five geese and a duck. The Bear Refuge project is run by the Velebit Association Kuterevo (Velebitska udruga Kuterevo). The refuge is reliant on local and international volunteers, who assist in the daily care of the resident bears and other animals, organise visitor coordination and complete site maintenance.
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View of one of the bear enclosures at the sanctuary..
Brown bears are the second largest bear in the world. A female brown bear can weigh 200kg, and a male brown bear can weigh up to 350kg, the largest known bear weighed 480kg. Despite their size, brown bears can run up to 30mph. Brown bears usually forage in the morning and evening and rest under dense vegetation during the day. The majority of a bear’s diet consists of nuts, roots, berries and fruit, they also eat other animals, from rodents to larger mammals. Hibernation will last from roughly October/December until March/May. Hibernation is achieved through the bear choosing a suitable location, such as a burrow, sheltered slope, under or a large stone or among tree roots. Some dens may be used repeatedly over the years. Brown bears can be found in many habitats, from the peripheries of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, they are commonly found in mountain woodlands. Bears have a gestation period of 180-266 days. A cub will stay with the mother for up to three years of their life. Lactating for 18 to 30 months whilst eating other foods. Between 4-6 years a bear will reach sexual maturity, however will continue to grow until 11 years of age. In the wild bears can live as long as 30 years, however many die younger than this.
Sustainable Practices • • • • •
Local and homemade food: The food consumed by volunteers at the refuge is sourced locally. Branded or packaged items are generally avoided. Reusing waste: Kitchen scraps and leftovers are either used as compost or fed to animals at the refuge. Compost closet: Human waste is collected and composted, then used to fertilise locally grown produce. Biodegradable products: Volunteers are required to use biodegradable shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, soap, cleaning products etc. Rain water: Rain water is collected in tanks and used for showering, cleaning and other nonpotable purposes.
Work Tasks We were involved in a wide range of different work tasks. The first of these tasks was to feed the bears, this was taking buckets of feed (sunflower seeds and acorns) and vegetables and throwing them into the enclosure, providing enrichment. As well as feeding the bears we were also in charge of putting the geese and chicken away on an evening and letting them out again in the morning, we also fed them at the same time on a morning. When we weren’t feeding the animals we busied ourselves with maintenance work, such as repairing fences and cutting shrubbery down (the larger of the branches were thrown in to the bear enclosures for their enrichment). During our final week we began the process of building compost closets. Alongside the compost closets we also decided to build a bench and tables as well as rebuilding a stand up bear.
Croatia and Kuterevo In Croatia the national language is Croatian but most of the citizens are multilingual. Out of the estimated 4,432,460 people that live there 80% speak at least 1 other language, including German, English and Italian. There is 56.538km2 of land in Croatia and they have 31.900km2 of sea. Croatia borders Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia and the Adriatic sea. The capital of Croatia is Zagreb the currency used is Croatian kuna. Croatia has a lot of nature, they have mountain goats, chamois, also approximately 400 bears, around 100-150 wolves and less than 50 lynx. Scorpions and snakes are there, including vipers! Examples of plants include, squill, herb Robert germander speedwell, rockrose, primrose and snapdragons. The weather can very, from 10-17*C from November to April to 23*C to 30*C from May to October. Temperatures during the night can drop though 5-10*C in November to April and 13-20* in May to October. Kuterevo is a small village in Croatia, the village has a small population of locals along with volunteers that work at the bear sanctuary. The volunteers are stationed in a building called Postaja, the main HQ for all volunteers, where they will cook and relax or sleep. Around the sanctuary are a few designated gardens used for crops, along with a small church in the centre and a small local shop for general supplies.
Sawing wood to be used for site and enclosure maintenence
Free Time
Accommodation and Food In Croatia the living area wasn’t too different from home, this is because unlike last year’s group (who stayed in a barn called the American House) we got to stay in houses. We got to do this because it would have been far too cold for us to stay within the American House on a night. The accommodation we stayed in contained 3 bed rooms and 2 bathrooms. One of the bed rooms had 3 beds in it, and the other 2 had two bed rooms in it. Only 7 of us stayed within this house. 2 of the students stayed in another house situated near the top of the refuge. They had 1 bed room and a bathroom. The food we had was amazing, we cooked it all ourselves!! Each night we had a different meal cooked by different people. We didn’t eat any meat during our time here apart from one day where we went to the restaurant. We had a mixture of curries, soup, and pasta dishes, stews, bread and pizza. We could also bake different things such as cakes and crumbles! On one of the days a birthday cake was made for me from everyone! And the icing was turned pink by some beetroot juice.
Whilst we were in Croatia we had three hours for lunch a day and in that time cooked and ate and went to the shop. We also decorated souvenirs that could be sold in the shop, and worked on personal DIY projects. We also had all day Sunday off where we took a walk to the top of Kopija, which is a mountain just away from the village and when we were there we saw a bear cemetery with a wolf cemetery right next to it. There were also huts where people could camp and toilets up there, we also did fire lighting which consisted of making a flint and steel and learning how to use them.
Working on our personal projects during free time.
Kuterevo Spirit The Kuterevo Spirit has a beautiful meaning which every volunteer grasp within a few days of living at Kuterevo. The spirit has a different meaning to each individual but collectively creates the Kuterevo Spirit. Community, cooperation, environment, understanding, sustainability, being at peace with yourself and others, and being one with the environment are just a few words that we as a group believe is a part of the Kuterevo Spirit. As apart of understanding and having the Kuterevo spirit volunteers are then presented with wooden bear necklaces during a ceremony, which means that the volunteer has and understands the Kuterevo Spirit and how important the spirit is to the refuge.
Feeding the bears with Ivan, who runs the sanctuary.
Preparing bread dough in Postaja The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
This trip was organised by Everything is Possible, a non-profit organisation that facilitate volunteering and work placement opportunities around the world. They work with students, young offenders, the unemployed, substance abusers and ethnic minorities to ensure equal chances to learn and gain experience for everyone.