Environmental group offers bear adoption certificates as Valentine’s Day gifts

The Millions of Friends Association in Brașov, central Romania, is offering couples the possibility to adopt a bear as a gift for this year’s Valentine’s Day. Specifically, the loved one can receive an adoption certificate for a bear cub from the sanctuary, valid for one year.

An adoption certificate costs RON 330 (EUR 65) and can be ordered online from the association’s website.

The money raised through these donations will be used for the food, shelter, and care of the more than 100 bears at the Libearty Sanctuary in Zărnești.

“What more beautiful gift can you give to the person you love than a little bear? And not a plush bear, a real little bear, an orphaned bear, who needs care and a lot of love, which we, the Millions of Friends Association, provide at the Libearty Sanctuary. And then you can come and see it; you won’t have it only in a photo,” said the president of the Millions of Friends Association, Cristina Lapis.

Around 100 bears live in the Zărnești Sanctuary. Most were rescued from harsh situations, such as improper captivity.

According to a 2025 report from the Ministry of the Environment, Romania’s brown bear population stands between 10,419 and 12,770, although the figures have been contested by environmental groups. In 2024, Romania doubled the hunting quota for the brown bear to almost 500 following the deadly attack on a hiker in the Carpathians.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | George Calin)