This is the moment two sibling bear cubs, Mish and Lucy, complete the final leg of their journey from being abandoned by their mother in the Albanian mountains where they faced certain death to arriving at their custom-built enclosure in Devon.

The Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) siblings, Mish and Lucy were rescued from the Albanian mountains where their mother abandoned them in 2019.

After a successful fundraising campaign by the Wildwood Trust, the cubs were moved to a temporary enclosure in Belgium then to Kent and finally, they arrived at their ‘forever home’ at Wildwood Escot in the British South Western county of Devon earlier this month (4th June).

In a statement obtained by Newsflash, George Hyde, Wildwood Escot General Manager, said: “Lucy and Mish had a really tough start in life but really thrived under the care of our expert keepers in Kent.”

He added: “We can’t wait to continue the great rehabilitative work that the team has already started.”

Lucy and Mish were abandoned in the Albanian mountains by their mother possibly due to the stress caused by the destruction of their habitat.

The sibling faced almost certain death as they were too young to care for themselves and lacked basic survival skills.

Lucy and Mish were rescued by the Wildwood Trust after it launched a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of having the siblings transported all the way from Albania to the UK.

The bears were first moved to temporary accommodation in Belgium then Kent whilst their ‘forever’ home was being prepared in Devon.

In the footage, Mish and Lucy can be seen arriving at their new home where they eat, drink and even take a dip in the pool.

Their new enclosure has been designed to give them plenty of opportunities to play, explore and forage whilst exerts from the charity keep a watchful eye on them.

The enclosure also serves to help the cubs developed skills that they would have honed in the wild such as climbing trees, digging dens and searching for food.

Mish and Lucy are expected to move again later this summer once the 1.5-acre woodland enclosure is ready at the Wildwood Escot park.

The 1.5-acre site is built into a natural wood which will make it as natural as possible and will create a lifelong habitat for the cubs.

Paul Whitfield, Wildwood Trust’s Director-General, said: “All of the bears we care for at Wildwood have been rescued just like Lucy and Mish, who quite simply would not be able to survive in the wild.”

He added: “Their journey is an extraordinary one, but they’re not alone. They represent the struggle of wildlife to exist in its natural habitats in the face of the climate and nature crisis.”

Mark Habben, Wildwood’s Director of Zoo Operations, said: “We’re delighted that their new home is finally ready and I know they’ll be really happy in Devon, our bear experts will be on-hand to support our team there and pass on their experience to help the cubs settle in. “