Into the Wild

In July/Aug 2004, Russian Life ran a story by Laura Williams on the Pazhetnov family in Bubonitsy, Tver Region, which works to save orphaned bears. Editor Maria Antonova was in the neighborhood and paid the Pazhetnovs a follow-up visit, joining them as they released two bears into the wild. 

Two years ago, the Tver regional government outlawed winter den hunting in the region after January 15, when bears have their offspring. Winter den hunting is when hunters wake a bear and shoo it out of the den into the blinding sun, before gunning it down. Aside from Tver region, the practice is still legal in most of Russia, leading to dozens of orphaned newborn bears every winter, many of whom are brought to the Pazhetnovs by game wardens. 

Last January, two bear siblings were orphaned when their mother bear was killed by hunters in Novgorod region. The cubs were named Nora and Khor, and joined 16 others in the Pazhetnovs’ care – about six more than is optimal. “When there are more than 12,” Sergei Pazhetnov says, “there is a shortage of food in the surrounding forest.” The bears forage outside their enclosure starting in July, eating berries and hunting for ants. But when there are too many of them working to fatten themselves before their first hibernation, the forest cannot sustain them all. 

Nora and Khor are to be dropped in a forest about 200 kilometers away, near where they were found. The Pazhetnovs try to release their charges back into their original habitats, in order that a region’s population and diversity remain stable. 

We pick up the two bears in the morning – there is a long drive ahead of us. Sergei’s son Vassily has come from Moscow especially for the event. He’s studying to be a gamekeeper, like his father and grandfather. His plan is to eventually come back to the tiny Tver village and work with animals, like most of his family. “Hopefully I’ll start building a house in Bubonitsy next year,” he says as he’s driving the sturdy Defender SUV through the Russian forests and sparsely populated villages. The bears have awakened and are roaring wildly inside their metal containers, giving off a strong smell of mushrooms. Unlike most of his family, Vassily wants to study the lynx – there are too many dissertations written about the brown bear already.

Valentin Pazhetnov, who first settled in Bubonitsy in the 1980s with his wife Svetlana, says he feels lucky to have taught his children to love nature and wildlife. Now there are more than a dozen Pazhetnovs in the village, most of whom are involved with the bear project. Funding and equipment has been provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and curious volunteers come every summer, more than happy to be immersed in the rustic atmosphere of the forest village and its friendly inhabitants.

Valentin’s son Sergei is in charge of the day-to-day caretaking of the bears, and he’s eager to get the bears where they need, so they can be released quickly. As we’re driving past endless fields, a rainbow spans the sky and we stop for pictures. The bears get increasingly fussy and Sergei grows impatient. 

We meet up with forest warden Nikolai Kralya, who lives in the town of Kholm. Kralya brought the newborns to Sergei in January. Now each of the bears weighs 30 kilos. Kralya leads the way in his UAZ truck, periodically getting stuck in deep mud. Even from the backseat, we see a carpet of mushrooms in the forest, with no one to pick them – the nearest village has been abandoned for years. This is where Nora and Khor will be set free. Though the houses are decaying, a wheat field next to the village still delivers a grain harvest in the fall, so the cubs will have a nice supplement to their diet.

We set the containers in the field, and Sergei and Vassily open them and bang the lids on top, in order to scare the bears away. The cubs look disoriented after the long ride, and give Sergei a panicky look, timidly heading off for the trees. 

“Let’s go, let’s go, quickly!” Sergei yells, eager to leave the cubs to themselves and their new home – freedom. We can see two brown balls of fur among the tall grasses for a long time – they will build a den together, and most likely part ways only next year. 

A few kilometers away, we see cranberry pickers. Vassily stops to warn them about the bears ahead.

“Once they see the cubs, they will run for their lives, thinking their mom is making the rounds nearby,” Sergei laughs. “Those bears will be fine.”  RL