Bear Katja had a long way behind her: In 1995 she was freed from horrible keeping conditions in the German Circus Schubert in Nürnberg and was temporarily brought to the animal shelter in Nürnberg. Then she lived for many years in the zoo Kalletal, like bear Ida. 

When the zoo had to be sold, we were luckily able to bring Katja and Ida to our sanctuary. The bear lady got quickly used to her new life at our rescue center, with big enclosures surrounded by trees, lakes and grassland. She very much enjoyed playing with all the enrichments our caretaker team prepared for her.

Like many of our rescued bears, Katja loved to go for a swim in the lake. She also enjoyed picking fruits and vegetables from the trees, that our animal caretaker team hides for the bears. We want to keep the bears occupied and thus hide the food and spread it in the enclosures. At our sanctuary, our trees can grow tomatoes, grapes, cucumbers and other food all together. 

Katja has been fighting a lot with stereotypical behavior issues. The bears can sometimes show behavioral problems in stressful situations, it's often due to traumatic experiences from the past. But with time, Katja turned into a calmer bear. She showed less stereotypical behavior and often relaxed in comfortable hollows close to the forest. 

In 2020 she had to be put to sleep at the age of 34 due to her age-related health condition.