Manicures, massages, warm milk and 24/7 care to raise polar bear cubs whose mother rejected them

A team of six people - four ‘foster mothers’ and two vets - has been working round the clock since the beginning of December when two polar bear cubs were born and rejected by their mother at a safari park in the south of Russia.

Anastasia and Olesya Sakhatskaya, both 39, Maria Moroz, 32 and Yelena Milovidova, 31 have so far made tremendous progress in getting the cubs through the most dangerous postnatal period. 

The two cubs - still unnamed male and a female - were born to seven year old mother bear Seryozhka, from the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, and an 18-year-old father bear, Sedov. 

These are the first cubs for Sedov, much-loved by people of Krasnoyarsk after spending most of his life in the local zoo Royev Ruchey Park. 

Many in this Siberian city were anxiously waiting for updates on the cubs’ progress from the safari park in Gelendzhik, and cheered on social media when it became clear that the very first hurdles of nursing the cubs were over. 

Manicures, massages, warm milk and 24/7 care to raise polar bear cubs whose mother rejected them. Pictures and video: Yelena Milovidova/Gelendzhik Safari Park

‘There were no cases of nurturing polar bear cubs rejected by their mother in a Russian zoo yet, this is the first experience for us. In the world there were only five successful cases of polar bear cubs raised since birth in captivity. I do hope that we will succeed’, said Yelena Milovidova, deputy director of the Gelendzhik safari park.

First six weeks from birth were the hardest, with four ‘foster mothers’ and two vets taking shifts to ensure that the cubs body temperature was always stable, and they were receiving the right amount of food. 

The team has even attempted milking the mother bear, teaching Seryozhka to stand upright and to lean forward while getting snacks so that the staff could get much-needed mother’s milk; but the bear wasn’t patient enough for that.

Instead Seryozhka, who didn’t even attempt on her own to feed the cubs, allowed the staff to take some of her blood. 

The blood serum was used to provide the cubs with the first vital immunity boost which normally comes with mothers milk. 

Four Russian women share unique experience of becoming mother bears in the first ever attempt to nurture zoo cubs. Pictures: Yelena Milovidova/Gelendzhik Safari Park

Just like human babies, the polar bear cubs needed gentle massages several times a day; as the video from the zoo shows, they really enjoy having their nails shortened. 

‘They don’t seem to distinguish between the four of us. They know the scent of our skin and clothes, and sensing any of us getting close to them means just one thing: mother is here, and food is coming’, Elena Milovidova said. 

The cubs will never be reintroduced back to the wild, like is done in Russia with brown bears and some other rare animals, for example Amur tigers and leopards. 

The team is therefore teaching them how to interact with humans, starting from the most basic things of being tactile with them.

Recently the cubs, each weighing over four kilogram opened their eyes.

They should now start doubling in weight every couple of weeks. 

Anastasia and Olesya Sakhatskaya, both 39, Maria Moroz, 32 and Yelena Milovidova, 31 have so far made tremendous progress in getting the cubs through the most dangerous postnatal period. Pictures and video: Yelena Milovidova/Gelendzhik Safari Park

When they are three months, the team will start introducing meals like minced fish and a mixture of mince and milk, similar to creamy meat soup.

The next task will be to ensure that they are immune to the infections of the outside world by gradually introducing them to outdoor walks, as the first several months of their lives would be spent in sterile conditions.