Susi was born in 1981 and came to us at the BEAR SANCTUARY in 2007 from the town of Merseburg. Her precise origins are unknown. In Merseburg she lived in an urban kennel facility with an outdoor enclosure of ca. 300 square meters. The tiny indoor enclosure measured only 20 square meters. Susi lived together with another bear, Mischa, until 1993. Cubs were born (3, all of which were given away), the last being in 1992 and then the companions were separated to prevent further breeding. Mischa died in 1999. When Susi fırst came to us, she was very withdrawn and suspicious of humans in groups, fleeing into the forest to avoid contact. In her years of captivity, she had suffered at the hands of visiting groups. Susi quickly settled in here and became a very special member of the BEAR SANCTUARY community.

She was extremely friendly and sociable, both to her fellow bears and the keepers. In her early years here, she often spent time together with Maya in their enclosure. She even got on well with the often-overbearing Mascha. If Mascha began an argument, Susi simply avoided her until the air was clear. Some days she would lie in the sun with Mascha and Otto, all three pleasantly dozing. Susi loved playing with her feed ball on a pole. When it was fılled with grapes, she would patiently ensure that the very last morsel had found its way out. As she got older, she became less and less sociable. As is often the case with older anmals, she preferred her peace. And as is also often the case when old age calls, she wasn‘t so fast on her paws anymore, so Mascha and Otto were able to beat her to the food. Because of this situation, we arranged for her to get her own area in the enclosure. There she could nap for as long as she wanted, as nobody could steal her food. In March 2018 the BEAR SANCTUARY had to bid Susi farewell. She died of kidney failure after a short illness. Susi had reached the a ripe old age of 37 and we will all sorely miss her.