Daring rescuers save bears from rusting cages in Russia for life in Irish forest

Bu and Tyapa were living in cages with limited access to water and basic resources in Dagestan, Russia (Picture: Wild Ireland)

A pair of brown bears have been successfully relocated from Russia to an Irish forest following a daring five-year rescue effort.

Bu and Tyapa were confined to cages at a pet sanctuary in Dagestan, a south western republic on the Caspian Sea.

After being reportedly bred to be killed for taxidermic purposes, Tyapa was denied basic resources and were kept in an enclosure just two metres high, leaving him unable to stand upright and relying on water fed to him by hosepipes to drink.

He was kept with no roof above his head, exposing him to searing heat in the ...