In early January, two brothers celebrate their birthday – Kamchatka brown bears (Latin Ursus arctos beringianus) Myron and Vakula.
They were born in Mykolaiv Zoo on January 9, 2000. Today they are 21 years old.
Their parents Shaitan and Shata were born in nature on Kamchatka in 1979, and came to our zoo from Moscow Zoocentre on September 25, 1979. From the first day, this pair of Kamchatka brown bears lived in our zoo together.
In nature, brown bears are lonely. Usually, the biological group of female and male live together only during the rutting season. The male of the Kamchatka brown bear does not take part in the upbringing of cubs. Adult males can usually still be aggressive towards cubs.
In Mykolaiv Zoo Kamchatka brown bears were kept as a married couple. And when the female Shata gave birth to two brothers in 2000, who were named Myron and Vakula, they were left to live with their parents.
During the 21 years of keeping the pair of Kamchatka brown bears, the zoo's specialists managed to collect materials for joint keeping with their parents. From the moment the cubs are born, the male stays with the female in the den, warms and protects the newborns. The female leaves the cubs with the male without fear. The male is actively involved in the upbringing of growing cubs. Growing cubs find in their father a great companion for games, preferring to play with him rather than with their mother. During all these long years of work, exactly such observations were made by the specialists of our zoo.
Because our brothers were born together and have lived together all their life, they get along well with each other. They have the title of long-lived animals of Mykolaiv Zoo. Myron and Vakula are the favorites of many visitors, the visitors come specially to them.
We offer you a selection of historical photos of the life of our bear family.