In December 2024, Eva Rosenberg took over the management of Bear Sanctuary Arbesbach in addition to her position as country manager of FOUR PAWS Austria. Since then, she has been commuting between Vienna and the usually much colder Waldviertel region to take care of her charges.

Annelies is leading the animal caretaker team at Arbesbach, coordinating the feeding, enrichment and veterinary care of the bears. 

Mathias has been an animal caretaker at BEAR SANCTUARY Arbesbach for several years. One of his other main tasks is taking care of the maintenance of the premises and the technical facility.

Gerlinde is a passionate animal caretaker. Besides assisting with administrative work, she is also always busy with taking pictures of the bears and posting them on our social media channels.

Manuela is an animal caretaker. You can also find her doing guided tours or in the souvenir shop, where she is helping out whenever there is a need. 

Daan is our animal caretaker from the Netherlands. You can also find him on guided tours, whether in English, Dutch or German. 

Birgit has a big heart for animals. Her love of animals has even taken her to Africa. Back in the Waldviertel, she is now leading the service team at the sanctuary.

Elisabeth, Lisi, is part of the staff at the ticket and souvenir shop of our BEAR SANCTUARY. She is also very skilled at craftsmanship and gardening. Her creative ideas can be found all over the sanctuary. 

Bettina will welcome you at the ticket and souvenir shop. Starting this year she will also introduce our sanctuary to visitors during guided tours.

Petronella is assisting the sanctuary management with administrative tasks.

Monika is supporting us at the shop as well as in the office. With her cheerful and warm personality, she accompanies visitors on tours around the sanctuary.

Alexandra has been part of the team since 2022. Her creative skills are used in the development of visitor programs and the communication about animal welfare topics.

Hermann!!! That's probably the most frequently called name in the Bear Forest since our tireless Hermann joined us. He takes on every challenge, no matter how big, whether it's for our bears, visitors, or employees. And in doing so, he has given our bears countless happy moments that warm his heart. Because nothing is more important to him in the Bear Forest than the well-being of our bears.

As a trained programmer, Gabi has already proven herself to be a super talent in administration, in the office, and in the guest service center. When she's not tinkering with computers and cracking tricky (at least for us) PC language codes, you'll find her on the visitor trail. Gabi will tell you exciting stories about our bears and the Bear Forest as part of a guided tour. With her sunny and friendly disposition, she also makes our visitors beam with joy.

Here at our Bear Sanctuary, Sarah combines her passion for education and animal welfare. As a trained educator, she is able to communicate our animal welfare work to our visitors, especially our young guests, in an optimal way and inspire them to get involved. She is, so to speak, creating the animal welfare activists of the future. And that is exactly what we need.

Last season, Michi could be seen scooting around the Bear Sanctuary as a tour guide, but now she has taken on the role of our Education Team Manager, standing in for Sarah. Michi is a creative mind and inspires young and old alike with her enthusiasm for our bears and the forest. As a trained forest educator, she brings a wealth of experience and new momentum to our animal welfare education program.