This family is un-bear-lievable! Meet the family that dines together at the table with A BEAR.
Yuriy Panteleenko is reading a book to his pet bear, Stepan.
While Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko, from Russia, might seem an ordinary couple, but for their 23-year-old bear named Stepan.
Stepan, at more than 7ft tall, is so docile that the family has been known to gather together in the evenings to watch television and he occasionally assists with chores by watering the plants.
Stepan the bear with Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko playing catch.
Stepan’s diet is quite strict. He eats 25kg of fish, vegetables, and eggs every day – although he consumes more than a bowl of porridge each day.
His favorite food is a can of condensed milk because of his love for sweets.
Svetlana and Yuriy adopted Stepan, a three-month-old Siberian brown bear, when he was just three months old. This has allegedly allowed the bear to be extremely docile and prone to snuggling up to them on the sofa.
Stepan the bear with Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko eating porridge.
Fortunately, for Stepan, a 300-pound football fanatic, he also works off the stomach-busting amount of food his parents give him every day.
“Stepan likes nothing more than to relax on the sofa with us at night while we watch television,” Svetlana added.
Stepan is so domesticated that the family have been known to sit down in the evenings to watch the television together.
“When we first brought him home, he was just three months old and had been found by hu.nt.ers in the forest, who had lost his mother. He was in 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.
Stepan the bear with Svetlana having a picnic.
“He’s got a lot of talents and loves a picnic. It’s amazing he doesn’t consume us out of house and home.”
