[ Girl ] Poppies blooming in the fields,
mountains are filled with songs.
You're the blossom of our hearts,
dear bear, come and visit. 00:00:52-00:00:55 [ title ] BEAR WITH ME
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] I'm a trailblazer who’s learnt a lot about the life of bears,
watching them in the wild,
what they eat, where they sleep, where they go, how they meet,
how they mate, what happens next.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] It turned out to be my work for the past 40 years of my life!
Based on my work, we found a way to raise and release orphaned bear cubs into the wild.
Without them falling into human hands.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] The main thing about our method is to preserve,
[ VALENTIN PAZHETNOV, BIOLOGIST, BEAR RESCUE CENTRE FOUNDER ] Their fear of humans
and everything to do with them
Everything else is less important.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] The two months when we get most of our cubs
are January and February when they are born.
Today we're going to the Kostroma region,
to pick three cubs.
Hopefully, all of them are healthy and in good shape.
We'll find out once we get there.
[ Yana ] Do you know why these cubs were orphaned?
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] People were chopping wood.
Mother bear might have seen them,
working too close to her lair,
and ran away, abandoning her cubs.
It's 800 km from our Center to Kostroma.
We can’t spend the night as we must take the cubs to the center right away.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Good afternoon!
We're here to see Sergey. 00:02:32 – 00:02:37 [ title ] KOSTROMA REGION FORESTRY AUTHORITY
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] - Hello [ Sergey Pazhetnov ] - Hi!
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] How much are the cubs eating? Are they in a box? [ Sergey Pazhetnov ] They eat more and more.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] It’s ok, they are growing. They're lively, gained weight in just two days!
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] - Ok, this one’s a boy. [ Vasily Pazhetnov ] - A Boy?
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] - They’re all boys. [ Vasily Pazhetnov ] - Are they well? No injuries?
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] No, no, no.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] - This one’s already walking. [ Vasily Pazhetnov ] - Great!
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] - The others aren't as quick but this one is. [ Vasily Pazhetnov ] - Amazing!
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Nothing can stop them when they're hungry.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Some serious chaps they are.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Put the box in here.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] We won’t get lost.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] At first, I wanted to be a cook on ship.
But my grandfather said,
‘Vasily, you should graduate from college
[ Vasily Pazhetnov, Valentin Pazhetnov’s Grandson ] with a biology or veterinary degree,
we need experts.’
He always told us we should live as one family
and work together.
When I was little, 8 years old, I helped my father feed the cubs.
Maybe that's why I ended up in this line of work.
I got interested and I keep doing it.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] We should feed the cubs along the way.
At this age they need to eat every 4 hours.
That's why we need regular stops,
to prepare their formula.
Then the cubs go back to sleep for another 3 or 4 hours.
And then we can continue on our way. 00:04:29-00:04:32 [ music ]
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] We cannot open the windows because of the draught.
The cubs can catch cold,
get pneumonia and die.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] The ancient land of Toropets lies halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Here in a small village by the woods
The Toropets "Clean Forest" bio-station was established. 00:04:42 – 00:04:47 [ geotitle ] BEAR RESCUE CENTRE TVER REGION
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] All of the cubs ending up at our Rescue centre were orphaned for one reason or another.
These cubs are tiny and need help.
If there’s no help from mum, they need us, or they'll die.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] Usually, bear cubs are born in mid January, when it's bitterly cold.
The new born weight is under 500 g.
Their ears are covered with membranes to prevent the dirt from getting in.
The membrane dissolves when the cubs are 15-18 days old.
Their eyes open only after a month.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] A scared the bear will never return, to her cubs in the lair.
Instinct kicks in to save herself for her future litters.
You can’t see the cubs now, they’re asleep.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] By our method, they can only be seen before their eyes open, in the first month.
Or, in the Autumn, when released.
Otherwise, they won't be wild anymore and will try to contact the people.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] My father often took me hunting,
and we'd see wild animals.
It was fascinating to see how they live in the world.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] The project to help these little bears
[ Sergey Pazhetnov, Valentin Pazhetnov’s Son ] began before my eyes.
The only way to monitor their behaviour was to take in 3 cubs,
and observe them for 2.5 years.
I was researching the living quarters they needed to develop into normal animals.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] My mother was studying their alimentary patterns. Later, she took part in feeding.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] We call her "the cubs' mom", and it's somewhat true.
She feels it differently being a woman and a mother.
[ DR. VALENTIN PAZHETNOV, BIOLOGIST, BEAR RESCUE CENTRE FOUNDER ] And she proves to be surprisingly right sometimes!
She says, ‘We shouldn't feed him this, let's give him that instead.’
and the cub begins to gain weight and grows into a healthy animal.
[ Svetlana Pazhetnova, Valentin Pazhetnov’s Wife ] I adopted the mother-bear practices.
I always made them to do their potty before feeding them,
by holding them over a bucket.
I massage their bottoms, because mother-bear always cleans her cubs with her tongue.
She encourages them to defecate and then consumes their waste.
That's why her lair is always clean.
I figured out that they needed a little massage.
I wipe a tissue on their bottoms,
encouraging them to pee and poop.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] We'll feed them now – it's time.
It's important that we don’t talk, only use gestures.
We'll change into clothes kept there, to stop bringing scents from home.
We'll put on robes,
pour some milk and feed them. 00:08:29-00:08:32 [ title ] 2 MONTH OLD BEAR CUBS
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Bear's milk is very high in fat, it's 18%.
So we feed our cubs cow milk fortified with dry baby formula and instant milk for added fat.
[ Ekaterina Pazhetnova ] When we were weaning them off the bottles,
and introducing to bowls,
I said we shouldn't use deep bowls at first.
The baby should stick its muzzle into it and smell the food.
And it worked!
The cub worked out it was yummy, it was food.
Who cares if it's a bottle or not as long he eats.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] When working with bears, you can’t start loving them,
[ Vasily Pazhetnov, Valentin Pazhetnov’s Grandson ] or treat them like friends.
Always keep a distance and remember you're human and it's supposed to be wild.
Cubs might want to lick you or touch you,
or feel you with a paw,
you really don’t allow that.
We keep our distance to be sure they know we're not friends,
and they'll end up on their own.
Sometimes you want to pet them and touch them,
but this will only produce a negative result, I guess.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] I had a dramatic encounter with a bear in the nature reserve.
She'd been scared off her main lair,
and went to the border of the reserve,
found a lair and gave birth to cubs.
And when I turned up near her lair…
30 meters away,
she pounced and attacked me.
[ Dr. Valentin Pazhetnov, Biologist, Bear Rescue Centre Founder ] I shot the animal point blank,
well, my gun was basically touching it.
She shoved me and I fell.
But I had to do it,
because the situation…
was quite critical.
There is still regret.
On the one hand, I know it was a life threatening situation.
Then you look for any mistakes that you made,
It turns out that the bear wasn’t to blame - but man.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] What's happened?
We won't make it. It's -10C. They'll freeze, Denis.
Get the dogs, they may hurt them.
It’s ok, the mum’s gone, get the cubs.
Don’t worry.
Ok, bye, bye. 00:12:40-00:12:42 [ title ] TO BE CONTINUED
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Go on, go on. 00:12:44-00:12:47 [ title ] BEAR WITH ME
[ girl ] Poppies blooming in the fields,
mountains are filled with songs.
You're the blossom of our hearts,
dear bear, come and visit.
[ Denis Zaitsev, Local Resident ] It's 20 more meters to go.
We'll see when we get there.
Here it is.
Here.
Come here.
This is the lair.
I got this close.
The dog was hunting for a raccoon.
He couldn't see it for the snow.
The bear jumped out…
and I fell to the side.
The dogs scared it away and it ran toward the lake.
I was standing right here.
She jumped right at my feet, missing me by inches!
I didn't have a gun, only the dogs.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Mice nibbled at them a bit.
Two cubs – a male and a female.
This is what happens when cubs are left in the cold.
Give me the other bag.
[ Denis Zaitsev ] I didn’t know what to do, so I left. but I heard them squeak.
I got the dogs and left. That's it.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] - Then you called me. [ Denis Zaitsev ] - Yes, I did.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov, Senior Researcher, Biological Sciences ] We suggested he take the cubs,
but he was scared and afraid to do it alone.
We're about 50-60 km away, and it's -10C.
The cubs froze in 10 to 15 minutes.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] If we’d been there in time,
the cubs would have been alive and had a future.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Is this the female or male?
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] The female.
This one’s a female and this, male, almost new born.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] The male weighs 528 g.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] The male was probably born before the female.
Even if the cubs are taken in time,
the slightest hypothermia could cause pneumonia after 3 or 4 days,
a massive pneumonia.
A few times we failed to save the cubs,
because we didn’t know they'd suffered hypothermia.
Or we didn't have the equipment,
to x-ray the cub's lungs.
So…
A female.
456 g.
So…
ignorance can cause many problems.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] To minimise contact with the cubs,
by our method, only one or two people work with them.
They wear the same clothes, cover their bodies and use no perfume.
All scent that’s alien to the animal is eliminated.
This helps the cubs grow in a human-free environment. 00:16:41-00:16:44 [ "BEAR CUBS" ECO-SCHOOL ] TVER REGION
[ Elvira Pazhetnova ] I guess I’m in the third generation running this eco-school,
[ Elvira Pazhetnova, Valentin Pazhetnov’s Grandaughter ] that my grandfather founded with his friends.
It's a tent camp.
Kids are extremely close to nature.
They are studying trails after all,
hence field lodging is used at our eco-school.
[ child ] Look here!
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] First you must measure it and take note.
[ child ] How big is it?
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Here are more.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] - How many centimetres? [ children ] - About 7 cm?
[ child ] It's 7.5.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] There, write it down.
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] Now, pour it into the footprint, slowly. Go on, pour… pour.
There you are, now we wait.
[ child ] Show it to others!
[ child ] How cool!
[ Elvira Pazhetnova ] When I finished school my relatives told me to study biology,
[ Elvira Pazhetnova, Director, “Bear Cubs” Eco-School ] as my whole family is like that.
I refused to go.
For 10 years I tried to settle in Moscow,
trying various things,
but fate brought me back here.
The cause my family pursues turned out closest to me.
That's why I love everything I do here now.
That’s how it is, you can’t cheat destiny!
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] You know, bears can't count and some cubs get lost.
Cubs are like kids, some brave and some cowardly!
If a beer has three cubs and one gets carried away,
the mum can leave without knowing she’s left one behind!
Some come to us.
But if cubs are with people more than 3 months, we won’t take them,
they can’t learn to be in the wild.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] A mum bear comes out with her cubs in late March or early April.
She waits for the first thaw to appear in the forest, where there’s fresh grass.
So we take the cubs from the warmth to the cold,
just at the time when a mother would leave her den.
When the door opens,
the cubs mustn’t see a human,
they should see each other.
Man must leave.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] They must see each other many times so the image to imprinted.
The cubs themselves are small.
So when a man comes to leave food,
they won't pay much attention to him.
This was a very important change with our method,
because it helps the cubs
to stop being reliant on people.
It ensures that they won't approach a settlement
or any other place where there are people.
Fear people is vital.
Otherwise, they can't be released into the wild. 00:20:16-00:20:20 [ title ] 5 MONTH OLD BEAR CUBS
[ Ekaterina Pazhetnova ] Elya and I worked together, we met 10 years ago.
I came here on vacation,
to her, to this house,
where I met Sergey Pazhetnov.
[ Ekaterina Pazhetnova, Sergey Pazhetnov’s Wife ] I stayed...
looked around and stayed.
[ Ekaterina Pazhetnova ] The longer I'm here, the less I want to go to Moscow, as it’s so different.
You're free, not free from someone but free to go anywhere.
I go out, pick mushrooms to cook soup.
Or I’m out on my skis going to the forest.
By chance, here I have everything,
I ever wanted in life: my family,
animals, forest and nature. 00:21:43-00:21:47 [ title ] 8 MONTH OLD BEARS
[ Vasily Pazhetnov ] This year we have a bear named Viktor. He's never happy about anything.
When he expresses his feelings, we can't fully understand what he means.
It’s important he doesn't do this in the wild.
He must learn to keep quiet,
or he'll get a bullet from a man!
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] When there is a fresh grass in the woods,
we open the enclosure so they can explore and find their own food.
Then, we only feed them once a day.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Before being released, they only get natural food,
and only see us once every few weeks.
We spread out 40 bags of apples, and that's it, people don't go there.
[ Valentin Pazhetnov ] Another interesting thing about our method,
is that from a certain age, like four or five months,
the cubs can go out to their natural habitat on their own.
To where there are other bears, wolves and so on.
It's a little dangerous for them,
but that's how they form their defensive…
and feeding behaviour.
By early August we let them out.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Before letting them go, we put them in pairs.
Cubs can be communicative or uncommunicative.
Cub Nelya is great, very scared of people, tries to avoid them.
It’s perfect for release.
And Viktor is the most extrovert, so he'll be let out last.
Well, you can see this cub is quite communicative.
So he might spend the winter in the Centre.
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Before release, the cubs are shut in their pen.
We go and they're not there.
Sometimes we have to wait for three or four days to lock them up!
[ Sergey Pazhetnov ] Release is a routine thing.
We have to immobilise a cub,
take samples for tests,
measure its weight and all that.
We need to be sure the animal is healthy.
So, a cub is immobilised and gets a mark on its ear.
All our cubs are earmarked.
[ Ekaterina Pazhetnova ] At first, every time I released a cub,
it felt like a real tragedy for me.
Because I'd brought them up!
So instead of being happy, I’d break down and cry.
I kept asking Sergey:
‘How do you feel?
Aren’t you sad about parting with them?
You’ve lived with them for almost a year!
They live because of you!’
And he’d say, ‘I save them, I give them a chance to live.’
And I began to think I too was giving them a chance to live a real bear life.