Gina and Sofia are two sisters, born in the early 2006. Their mother was probably shot in the wild and they were used by a mini zoo at the restaurant Bancu Miercurea Ciuc until they were rescued and brought to the sanctuary in October 2006. They were given their names (after Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren) by the famous French actor Pierre Brice, who visited the Zarnesti bear sanctuary in November 2006.
They hibernated in the sanctuary quarantine dens for the first winter, and then have spent a year in their own small forest enclosure where they could get used to the sights and smells of the forest. They have spent most of their time climbing the trees and often both bears would sit on the branches of the same tree and look out over the larger enclosures where the adult bears live. They were later released into the large forest enclosure to join the adult bears, but still spend most of the day climbing trees. Gina has a harelip, which she was born with, but it doesn’t affect her in any way, especially not her large appetite.
