BEARING UP

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

The Panteleenkos say their sociable bear-son has been domesticated from a young age and loves helping around the house. His favourite chore is watering the garden. off a tin of condensed milk in no time.

Although Stepan spends most of his time with Svetlana and Yuriy, he lives in a separate little house and even has his own swimming pool. He just takes up too much space in their house, the couple say.

The Panteleenkos also have three dogs

SFAR LEFT: In 2009 Belarussians Oleg and Yelena Selekh took in a group of wild wolves. LEFT: Their daughter, Alisa, loves wolfback rides. piggybacking her through the garden,” Oleg adds.

Wild wolves regard everything as food but the Selekh animals have never shown an appetite for human flesh. Alisa can roll around with them and “share kisses” without fear of being harmed, Oleg says, and he completely trusts the wolves with his little girl.

Oleg, a gamekeeper, was walking through the forest in 2009 with his dog Silva when he came across four orphaned cubs whose parents had been shot by hunters.

Knowing they’d die in the harsh weather he brought them home, built them a special enclosure and raised them as pets. and while the animals get on well most of the time, Stepan is keen to assert himself when it comes to attention from their humans.

It’s easy having Stepan around, Svetlana says. “The most difficult thing is ensuring he doesn’t eat us out of house and home!” US TV host Casey Anderson’s best friend, a bear called Brutus, was the best man at his wedding to actress Missi Pyle in 2008.

SSSAnimal experts strongly advise against keeping wild animals as pets, whether caught in the wild or bred in captivity.

“The overwhelming majority of people who obtain wild animals are unable to provide the care they require,” says to The Humane Society of the United States. Here are other reasons why it’s not a good idea:

Baby animals grow up. That cuddly cub will turn into an aggressive adult – one that’s bigger, stronger, hungrier and fiercer than you could ever be.

They spread disease. Humans who adopt wild creatures run the risk of contracting rabies, herpes and salmonella poisoning. Domestication takes centuries. Just because you take in a wild animal at birth doesn’t mean it will grow up tame. Dogs and cats were domesticated over thousands of years – their traits have been carefully honed to make them dependent on humans for shelter, food and affection.