Vinzenz, a Syrian brown bear, was born in Slovenia in 1988. He was given to a circus, which abandoned him in Styria, Austria. Together with his sister Liese, he ended up as a mascot for a new ski lift. The pair lived there for the next nine years in a pit of 300 square metres. Vinzenz soon learnt that visitors would throw scraps of food when he stood up on his hind legs and and begged.

After the lift company went bankrupt, FOUR PAWS assumed care for the bears and moved them to the new BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach. During their first winter there, the two bears hibernated for the first time in their lives.

In the middle of October 2020, we had to bid our farewell to 32 year old bear Vinzenz. He was one of the first bears that could be saved by FOUR PAWS and was well loved for his lovely, calm and confident character. Up to recently, Vinzenz was well as usual. But then he started to loose appetite and did not want to move around as much as usual. The team and the veterenarians made a tremendous effort to give him the care he needed. Nonetheless, on October 15th 2020, his condition worsened rapidly. There was no prospect of improvement. Hence, it was decided to release him from his suffering and not to let him wake up from the anesthesia. We will remember Vinzenz for beeing a very clever, peaceful and gentle bear. 
Bye, bye, dear Vinzenz.