Police rescue chained bear cub in Russia's Rostov

Police officers have rescued a bear cub that was chained without food in a private house in the Rostov region, Russian Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk said.

"It was reported to the Azovsky Department of the Russian Interior Ministry that an animal-like roar had been heard from a house in the Kuleshovsky settlement," she said. 

"Senior District Police Officer Major Roman Lobanov found out that a starved bear cub was chained there with no food or water. Police officers accompanying him fed the bear cub, gave him water and continued to take care of him for 24 hours until a vet and an animal expert arrived who took the cub to a new place to live," TAS cited Volk as saying.

According to her, the police officers found and questioned the woman who owns the house and learned that she had rented it out. The tenants moved out but she knew nothing about the animal they had left behind. Neighbors said they had heard the roaring but had been afraid of entering the house.

"The well-coordinated steps by police officers and officials from the Rostov Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment made it possible to save the little bear. He has been put in a better environment and is not getting better," the spokesperson added.