Volunteering with bears in Romania

If you want to have a truly different and valuable trip then we are offering a new and very different opportunity in Romania. We are now able to send volunteers to a newly-opened bear sanctuary near Brasov.

The sanctuary aims to provide a temporary or permanent new home to brown bears that have been kept captive illegally in appalling conditions. It’s a great chance to get close to brown bears, long disappeared from the British landscape, and to be involved in something very positive. Most of them have never had the chance to learn how to survive in the wild and you’ll be able to watch their progress as they get used to living in woodland rather than a cage.

You’ll have the advantage of working in the peace of the forest, but living in Brasov, a bustling city with beautiful streets and plenty of bars and cafes. There’s a ski resort nearby and some great places to explore.

Short Placement (minimum 1 week): This placement is ideal for those people who want a holiday that really makes a difference to the lives of the Bears but who cannot commit to 2 months away. The work you would do would be exactly the same however there is a slightly different itinerary. Please enquire for futher details. Romania with its vast tracts of mountains and forests is home to about 60% of Europe’s brown bears. The vast majority are able to live undisturbed, but an unlucky few are kept in captivity and used as tourist attractions in restaurants or circuses. It’s heartbreaking to see them pacing around a cramped cage, fed on inappropriate food and abused by humans. Luckily for Romanian bears, the future is looking more positive. It is now illegal in Romania to keep a wild animal in captivity, but you can’t simply release bears that have been physically and mentally damaged by captivity. They will usually have been captured as cubs, so will have had little experience of surviving in the wild.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals has recently constructed a sanctuary near Brasov which will enable captive bears to be re-homed in 10 hectares of forest. Where possible, young bears will be rehabilitated and returned to the wild. The sanctuary will also have an educational centre to try to improve human attitudes to bears. Once Romania's captive bear problem has been resolved, it will be used for rescuing captive bears from other European countries.

As a volunteer you’ll be helping with a wide range of tasks, including feeding the bears, monitoring their progress, helping at the ‘bear hospital’, maintaining fences and facilities and showing visitors around. In your time off you’ll find plenty to do in Brasov and the surrounding area. Romania has beautiful scenery, with ski resorts, impressive castles and historic towns. Our volunteers have really enjoyed this under-visited part of Europe.

You will be based in Brasov living in a warm and comfortable flat that we will rent for you and our other volunteers. Please expect to share a room. You can go out in the evening to one of the many restaurants in Brasov or cook for yourself. We will arrange transport to the sanctuary each day.

You will be met at Bucharest airport by our representative and driven the 2-3 hours up to Brasov. You will spend the first couple of days developing some local knowledge, including learning some Romanian, and finding your way around Brasov. Our representative is in his late-twenties and speaks fluent English. You will see him regularly while you are at work, but also socially at various informal occasions. His role is to be a helpful friend to you and to steer you through difficulties of any kind. He will keep us updated on your health and welfare.