A visit to the Bear Sanctuary Arcturos
"Aren't you scared of bears when wild camping?" people often ask us. I always reply that it's actually the opposite, I would love to see a bear in the wild. Of course brown bears can be dangerous, but truthfully I'm more afraid of humans sitting in metal boxes pretending to be Schuhmacher, instead of wild animals.
In northern Greece, where there's vast forests and not many human settlements, bears can still be found. Actually, the bear population is even increasing! Best conditions to spot one.
Below you see a picture we took of Ursus arctos, however, this individual we photographed at the bear sanctuary of Arcturos.
Arcturos is an NGO, dedicated to the protection of large predators. We visited them in late April and spent a wonderful day exploring the sanctuary and talking with the staff. I wrote an article about their work on this website, which you can access by clicking here.
On our cycling journey we are visiting conservation projects, national parks and NGO's. We especially try to find out what it means to be a ranger and fight for nature on the front line. The ranger job seems charismatic, but in many parts of the world it's dangerous. We are raising funds for the Thin Green Line Foundation, a ranger foundation supporting rangers especially in Africa and Asia. If you can, please make a donation for this great cause by clicking here. Thank you!
