From Russian cages to Irish sanctuary: Brown bears rescue

A remarkable five-year rescue mission to save two brown bears from the Republic of Dagestan in Russia and bring them to the Irish countryside has concluded successfully. The bears endured harrowing pasts, with one forced to perform in a circus and the other confined to a cage so cramped that standing upright was impossible.

Today, the two bears are adapting to a completely new lifestyle surrounded by trees and grass at Wild Ireland, a sanctuary located in Burnfoot, County Donegal, which provides a safe haven for rescued animals including brown bears, monkeys, wolves, and lynx.

Killian McLaughlin, founder of Wild Ireland, first learned about Bu and Tyapa in 2021 and committed to bringing them to safety. He noted that the bears were in extremely poor health upon initial rescue, with Tyapa living in an open-air concrete enclosure measuring just 2.5 by 2.5 meters and 2 meters high, lacking a roof against harsh weather and relying on a garden hose for drinking water while being raised for potential taxidermy.

"These bears have suffered trauma and the first step of that recovery process is get them back out into the forest, get their paws into the soil and on the grass and get them exploring."

Killian McLaughlin, Wild Ireland Founder

The rescue operation faced severe logistical hurdles, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 which blocked the original transport corridor, followed by Middle Eastern airspace closures in February 2026 due to escalating conflicts involving Iran. Ultimately, more than 100 individuals—including volunteers, lawyers, veterinarians, and cargo specialists—coordinated the effort. In late 2025, Dima and Yana Kim from Tiger House sanctuary drove 36 hours to Dagestan to cut the bears out of their rusting steel cages, before eventual transit via Moscow and Abu Dhabi to Dublin in August 2026.