The appearance of the first brown bears outside their dens was announced by the Arcturos Brown Bear Refuge in Nympheo, Florina prefecture of western Macedonia.

Same as any other year at the sanctuary, the two younger bears “Manolis” and “Kyriakos” emerged from hibernation first, followed by “Barbara”. The only bear that still hasn’t come out of her den is “Tasoula”.

According to an announcement released on Thursday, the wildlife refuge will open doors to the public on Saturday, first day of the spring — regardless of the fact that the Florina uplands are still covered in snow — as the center is now ready to receive visitors.

The centre will be open on a daily basis (except Wednesdays) and at weekends from 10.00-16.30.

Arcturos

ARCTUROS is a Greek, non-governmental organization seeking to enhance biodiversity and sustainability in the Greek rural areas.  ARCTUROS implements cross-border projects in order to protect mountainous ecosystems, with an emphasis on bears and large mammals, aiming at the integrated management of protected mountainous regions and the provision of expertise for natural environment interventions.

ARCTUROS Environmental Center, which operates in Florina perfecture, resolved the problem of captive bears and wolves in Greece and raised public awareness about large mammals.