17 Bears Rescued From Concrete Cages Now Roam on 60 Acres

No matter what you think of PETA, this animal rescue story will warm your heart.

Thanks to PETA, the Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon, and the Atlanta Humane Society, 17 bears were rescued from barren concrete pits in a dismal Georgia tourist attraction and relocated to lush acreage in Keenesburg, Colorado.

They now roam on 60 acres of grassland in The Wild Animal Sanctuary.

When they first arrived at the sanctuary, the team opened the trailer doors and let the bears slowly look around at their new surroundings. “Dakota” immediately stepped out of the cage, put his nose to the ground, and started smelling the Earth — something they had never been able to do. It didn’t take long before he was running joyously and incredulously around his new, vast home.

One of the rescued bears, Ursula, was pregnant at the time of the rescue and this week a hidden camera got video of her two newborn cubs venturing with their mama outside their den for the first time.

Two females in the Georgia Black Forest Bear Park were repeatedly impregnated, only to have their babies taken away shortly after birth. Now, for the first time, the two, who were both pregnant during the move to Colorado, can raise their young and thrive in an environment in which the cubs are respected.

(WATCH the bears run free in the video below or SEE the new bear cubs in the second video)