The idea of sitting down for dinner with a 300lb bear is enough to put most people off their food. However, for one family from Russia, this wild idea is actually a way of life that extends far beyond sharing the odd meal at the dinner table.
On the surface Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko appear like any other ordinary couple, but for their 23-year-old bear named Stepan. The bear, called Stepan, was adopted by Russian couple Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko aged just three months after being discovered by hunters in the forest, having lost his mother.
Standing at more than seven foot, the large mammal is so domesticated the family often sits down together in the evenings to watch television. And the bear has even been known to help out around the house – or at least in the garden – by watering the plants.
While Stepan gets through more than a bowl of porridge a day his favorite dish is a can of condensed milk thanks to a sweet tooth.
But fortunately for Stepan, he’s also a football fanatic so he works off the gut-busting amount of food his parents serve him every day.
Svetlana and Yuriy adopted Stepan when he was just three months old.
The couple say that because they have known the bear so long his temperament is extremely gentle and he can often be found cuddling up to them on the sofa.
Svetlana said: ‘Stepan likes nothing more than to cuddle up with us on the sofa at night while we’re watching television. When we adopted him, he was only three months old and had been found by hunters in the forest having lost his mother. He was in a very bad condition. He absolutely loves people and is a really sociable bear – despite what people might think, he is not aggressive at all. We have never been bitten by Stepan. He’s got so many talents and loves a picnic. It’s a wonder he doesn’t eat us out of house and home.’
