Bärenwald Müritz, Bear sanctuary in Stuer, Germany.
Bärenwald Müritz is a bear sanctuary near Stuer at the southern tip of Lake Plauer See in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It covers 16 hectares, of which 12 hectares are large outdoor enclosures with mixed woodland, grasslands, hillsides and a natural watercourse. A 300-metre-long tunnel bridge lets the bears roam the entire sanctuary without physical fencing.
Bear Sanctuary Müritz opened in October 2006 as a project of the animal welfare organisation Four Paws. Its first residents were the siblings Lothar and Sindi, brought from Schwarzwaldpark Löffingen; Maya, Ben and Felix followed in 2007. Later arrivals came from a zoo in Leszno, Poland, and from Serbia, whose last circus bears, Sylvia and Pavle, moved in during November 2017.
The forest allows visitors to watch bears dig, climb, and explore as they naturally would, offering a rare chance to observe their instinctive behaviors. Seeing them roam freely here demonstrates why these animals need space and respect.
Wear sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing, as trails run through the forest and conditions change with the season. The sanctuary is open year-round, but animals are most active and visible during warmer months when they spend more time outdoors.
The sanctuary's 300-metre tunnel bridge, the first of its kind, lets the bears roam the whole site without physical fencing between enclosures. Visitors walk the nature trail and the "bear academy" stations while the animals move freely overhead and between areas.
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