This is the tear-jerking moment a bear saw snow for the first time after spending 20 years of his life in a cage.
Buri was taken as a cub and has never been outside.
From his dental records, researchers believe he is about 20 – meaning he’s spent two decades in captivity.
But three weeks ago Buri was rescued from captivity by a team in Ukraine.
Until recently there was very little regulation in Ukraine surrounding keeping animals in captivity.
As a result, hundreds of bears and other wild animals are still kept privately or as ‘entertainment’ outside restaurants in the country.
Lionel De Lange, from Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization Ukraine lead the team that rescued Buri.
He has been working with a team of volunteers, vets and helpers to free as many bears as possible from a life of misery.
Buri took his first steps in the snow at the weekend at the Synevir National Park in Ukraine where he joins dozens of rescued bears now enjoying the outdoors for the first time.
In the clip, Buri hugs and slides down the tree with delight and paws and sniffs the snow which he has never experienced before.
‘We think Buri is between 18 and 20 years old because there are no documents for him.
‘We looked at his teeth and the condition that he is in and made that estimate from what we know about other bears.
‘He’s spent his whole life in captivity because he and all the bears we rescue get captured when they are cubs, which is terrible.’
