Cher says representatives from her Free The Wild foundation had to sneak into Ukraine during the country’s war with Russia to rescue a bear
Cher says representatives of her Free The Wild foundation had to sneak into Ukraine to save a bear during the war with Russia
Cher spoke about rescuing a Eurasian brown bear named Masha from a Ukrainian zoo during an interview with The mirror.
The 77-year-old singer explained that just before the start of the country’s war with Russia, representatives of her Free The Wild foundation entered the country and rescued several lions, a tiger and a panther from a zoo.
The artist, who recently founded a gelato brand, was then told that the reps couldn’t move one of the zoo’s bears, prompting her to organize a mission to retrieve the missing animal.
“We had to sneak back with a big pickup during the war and get (Masha) out,” she recalls.
Several updates about Masha were shared on Free The Wild’s Instagram account last March, and a post was shared to reveal that the foundation’s team had to make a “700km journey across” Ukraine to take the bear to a shelter. to Romania.
Bear-y worried: During an interview with The Mirror, Cher spoke about rescuing a bear named Masha from a Ukrainian zoo; she is seen in March
After arriving at the sanctuary, Masha quickly “settled in” to her new environment, and “saw another brown bear for the first time in her life as she took her first steps into her new safe space.”
Masha was also “introduced to her fellow bears” and encouraged to “enjoy the vast space she now has at her disposal – 70 acres compared to the 2×2 meter box she has lived in for 19 years.”
Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian, also spoke about her previous rescue of an Asian elephant named Kavaan, previously kept in a Pakistani zoo.
The Believe singer flew from Los Angeles to Pakistan at the height of the pandemic to ensure the animal was moved to a better-equipped facility.
She recalled, “It took me five years in court to get Kavaan out of that zoo, but Islamabad finally understood exactly why it had to be done.”
Cher’s efforts to save the elephant were previously documented in Cher & the Loneliest Elephant.
The feature, in which the singer collaborated with animal relief organizations and several veterinarians, was released on the streaming platform Paramount + in April 2021.
The documentary was also made available to the public on the Smithsonian Channel the following month.
Lions and tigers: The 77-year-old singer explained that, just before the start of the country’s war with Russia, representatives of her Free The Wild foundation entered the country and rescued several lions, a tiger and a panther from a zoo
Excruciating conditions: Cher was then told that the reps could not move one of the zoo’s bears, prompting her to organize a mission to retrieve the missing anima
Disheartening: Cher recalled that during the war, the Free The Wild reps had to “sneak back with a big pickup truck and (Masha) get out”; she is seen in March
Positive changes: After arriving at the sanctuary, Masha quickly “settled” into her new environment and “saw another brown bear for the first time in her life as she took her first steps into her new safe space”
The hitmaker discussed the feature film during an interview with Weekly entertainmentwhere she shared why she was so determined to save Kavaan from his former living situation.
She stated, ‘I hope this documentary will help me because elephants can’t be in zoos. They’re not doing well… It’s like coming in and splitting up a family and saying, ‘Put grandma in a cage!’
Cher also opened up about forging a personal relationship with the now-displaced animal.
‘He is a very kind soul. I’d be the meanest son of a bitch to ever take a breath if I’d been through everything he had to go through… I felt a complete attachment to him,” she said.