Arcturos Bear and Wolf Sanctuary in the traditional, quaint town of Nymfaio in the region of Florina, and referred to by UNESCO as in the top ten of one of Europe’s most picturesque villages is a unique place in itself.

History and concept

You wouldn’t think that bears and wolves exist in Greece. Arcturos–a combination of arktos meaning ‘bear’ and Arcturus meaning ‘guardian of the bear’ was set up in 1992 as an NGO to help stop the cruel dancing bears ‘tradition’ that was synonymous in the Balkan regions.

Bears were rescued, along with circus bears, bears rescued from injury due to infrastructure projects such as roads encroaching on their land and wolves rescued from zoos or captivity.

What you can expect

Whilst they can’t be released back into the wild, the bears have 24 acres of wildlife they can safely live out the rest of their days where they belong–in nature.