A bear with a thick brown-gray coat, eating or interacting with food on snowy ground in a natural outdoor setting. 1:25
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) channel icon PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)Original creator 7.8M views Save

A bear's first den after 30 years in captivity

Fifi the bear spent her first 10 years made to do tricks for people at a roadside zoo in Pennsylvania. One of them was riding a bicycle. more

When the shows ended, no one sent her to the wild or even to a real zoo. She spent the next 20 years on a concrete slab inside a tiny, rusted cage, with a run-down doghouse for shelter. By the time rescuers met her, she was shockingly thin and hurting from arthritis that no one had treated.

Word got out, and help came. PETA and The Wild Animal Sanctuary freed Fifi and two other bears and moved them to Colorado.

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Fifi the bear spent her first 10 years made to do tricks for people at a roadside zoo in Pennsylvania.

The sanctuary covers 720 acres of rolling grassland and cares for more than 450 animals. It's one of only a few sanctuaries in the country built to handle big carnivores. Still, Fifi was over 30 years old and had suffered for decades. Her rescuers admit they didn't know if she would bounce back.

Then there's Fifi five months later. Her ears are up, and she looks out with her head turned a little to one side. One viewer said the words "30 years" felt crushing, and that seeing Fifi run in the open made it easy to breathe again.

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Five months into sanctuary life, Fifi looks out with her ears perked up.

She settled in fast. Her new life has prairie grass and swimming holes, a long way from a concrete slab.

She's healthy now, her coat is full, and her legs get stronger every day. As her rescuers put it, "Fifi's body finally matches her big and beautiful personality."

A pale bear looks through metal bars, with wooden structures and green plants behind her. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Fifi is healthy now, with a full coat and legs that get stronger every day.

Now winter is coming, and Fifi has a proper den. For the first time in her life, she gets to hibernate, tucked in for the cold months. Her rescuers have three words for her. "Sleep well, Fifi."

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