Big, plush, yours: the story of the bear Stepan, who lives in a Russian family. "He's sitting at the table"

Incredible facts

Trainers Svetlana and Yuri Panteleenko seem ordinary family until they present their 23-year-old adopted son - brown bear Stepan.

They are used to doing everything together, from playing in the yard to watching TV on the couch.

Stepan was only 3 months old when the Panteleenko family took him into their family. The bear was found in a terrible state by hunters after he lost his mother.

Since then, the clubfoot and the Panteleenko family have lived together for 23 years.

Russian bear Stepan

Since Stepan was domesticated from young age, he has a very gentle temperament. At any opportunity he loves to hug his parents, and in the evenings he likes to snuggle up with them on the sofa.

"He loves people and is very sociable– despite what people may think, he is not aggressive at all. Stepan never bit us,” said Svetlana.

The only thing Svetlana and Yuri can complain about is Stepan's good appetite. Stepan's height is 2.20 meters and weight is 136 kg.

He eats 25 kg of fish per day, as well as plenty of eggs and vegetables, but his favorite treat is a can of condensed milk. Stepan was never given raw meat, perhaps so as not to awaken his predatory instinct.

Bear Stepan and his family

Yuri and Svetlana taught Stepan a number of tricks, and they already performed in various performances, mainly for children. The bear also participated in several professional photo shoots with girls, models and children, and they all noted his good nature.

Stepan could be seen in several Russian films, including “The Edge” by Alexei Uchitel and “Tsar” by Pavel Lungin.

Yuri Panteleenko himself said that Stepan is one of the few animals completely devoid of aggression.

He always has a happy and playful mood and has never exhibited aggressive behavior.

IN Lately, against the backdrop of deteriorating political relations between Russia and Great Britain, an interesting trend has emerged. In the English media, in addition to materials about “Putin’s aggressive policy,” materials concerning Russian exoticism are increasingly appearing.

Of course, British reporters could not pass by famous theme about the close relationship between Russians and brown bears living with them.

The British newspaper Daily Mail published an article entitled “Russian family dines with a huge bear.” The report talks about the family Yuri and Svetlana Panteleenko, in whose house lives a 23-year-old bear named Stepan.

The article, which includes numerous photographic and video evidence, says that the couple got the bear when he was only three months old. Hunters found a weakened, lonely bear cub in the forest - its mother died.

The Panteleenko spouses, who replaced the bear's parents, took him out, after which he became very attached to them.

Today, the huge bear, who eats 25 kg of fish, vegetables and eggs for lunch, still feels affection for Yuri and Svetlana. The article claims that what Stepan likes most is to cuddle and watch football while sitting on the couch. Stepan helps people in the garden, for example, watering flowers, and his favorite treat is condensed milk.

RIA Novosti / Ruslan Krivobok

“Who makes furniture for this family?”

The Daily Mail material impressed the British audience, causing various emotions.

“Poor bear, all his teeth were pulled out,” wrote a user from Canada. “It will be bad if the next story is about how a bear killed them,” wrote a US resident.

“Look how handsome he is. I hope they live happily ever after,” came the response from Australia.

But the comment from Pennsylvania turned out to be the most original: “I wonder who makes the furniture for this family?”

Article English journalists is not fiction at all - the bear Stepan and the Panteleenko family really exist. But the British deliberately did not emphasize the fact that Yuri and Svetlana Panteleenko are trainers.

Styopa the bear and his teacher Yuri Panteleenko. Photo: RIA Novosti / Ruslan Krivobok

Stepan the Bear - the “star” of Russian cinema

IN Russian media they have written about Stepan more than once. The Panteleenkos actually began working with the animal when it was still a bear cub.

“You need to put the animal in a trusting working mood so that it feels what is required of it. There must be a lot of goodies - always through encouragement,” Yuri Panteleenko spoke about his relationship with the predator in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Stepan refers to this a small number wild animals that are almost completely devoid of aggression towards humans: according to the trainer, Stepan has not shown the slightest aggression in his entire life. The bear has a cheerful and playful disposition.

Thanks to this combination of qualities, Stepan became a star on the silver screen and starred in a number of Russian films. Among them are films such as “The Edge” Alexey Uchitel and "Tsar" Pavel Lungin. At the same time, the Panteleenko spouses complain, filmmakers demand from the bear manifestations of his “animal essence,” while his playful and naturally friendly disposition remains unclaimed.

In this presentation, Stepan’s story remains no less interesting, but it clearly lacks the intensity of “Russian exoticism” that the English journalists were clearly striving for.

Russian exotica: from an “army of miniskirts” to cakes “perfect as pornography”

Recently, the British audience has repeatedly been able to get acquainted with materials in the style of “Oh, those Russians.”

Immediately after the Victory Parade on May 9, material about Russian women with overtly sexual overtones was published by the British edition of the Daily Mirror. Journalists were amazed by Russian servicemen walking through Red Square.

“They were wearing knee-length black boots, tan tights, starchy white uniforms with gold braid, black ties, white gloves and caps,” the reporter described in detail. appearance Russian women. The Briton drew attention to their short miniskirts, which contrast sharply with the uniform of the women's battalions of most Western armies, including the armed forces of Great Britain and the United States.

The publication dubbed the parade in Moscow “sexist,” noting that such a spectacle clearly appealed to the “brutal Russian leader» Vladimir Putin.

Following this, the British publication The Independent published material about a confectioner from Ufa Olga Noskova. The English journalist was surprised and delighted by the Russian woman’s cakes, photos of which she posts on Instagram.

The highlight of the Russian woman’s works is the glossy coating of the desserts, which is achieved using glaze and gelatin.

The British publication reported that Olga Noskova's cakes look as if touching them could take you to another dimension. At the same time, all this caused journalist Christopher Hooton reaction with sexual overtones, as a result of which he gave the gallery with photographs of the Russian woman’s cakes a NSFW tag.

The NSFW tag is used when corresponding with e-mail, in online videos, Internet forums, blogs to highlight hyperlinks that contain materials such as nudity, pornography and obscene language that may cause problems for those who watch them in the presence of colleagues or outside visitors.

An article about Olga Noskova was titled “The icing on these cakes is so perfect that it’s almost pornography.”

Judging by the emerging trend, the material about the bear Stepan living in a Russian family will not be the last in the chain of sensational revelations in the English media about life in modern Russia.

Some people keep dogs at home, some cats and rodents, some like silent fish or hissing cockroaches, but all this is difficult to compare with the pet of Yuri and Svetlana Panteleenko. A real brown bear weighing more than 300 kg lives in their home. Twenty-year-old bear Stepan is only menacing in appearance, but in reality he is the kindest creature who has never offended anyone.

Little Stepan came to his new “parents” when he was still a very tiny three-month-old bear cub. It was sold at the market by hunters who claimed that the baby simply fell behind its mother and got lost. The Panteleenko family recalls that Stepan was then simply in a terrible state, all wounded and scared.

Yuri and Svetlana are not just compassionate passers-by who took pity on the bear cub, they both work as trainers, and therefore know how to treat animals. Only thanks to long and patient care for the baby, it was possible to melt his heart, help Stepushka, as he is sometimes called now, to recover and learn many circus tricks.

The fact that Stepan is not aggressive (in his entire life he has never bitten or attacked anyone), but, on the contrary, is friendly and very careful in communicating with people is an exception to the rule. It is very difficult to tame a bear, and most often these animals are simply not able to get along with people, at least not as a pet. That is why Stepan is now in great demand both for photo shoots and for various filming of films, programs and TV series. Moreover, Stepan regularly attends Christmas trees- children, of course, can be scared to see such a huge beast next to them (the bear’s height is 2 meters 20 cm), but Stepan manages to charm the kids.

Photos from open sources

Russian Panteleenko spouses living with an adult brown bear, became a real Internet sensation. Unusual pet Yuri and Svetlana amazed World Wide Web users from all over the planet. Thus, foreigners have found yet another confirmation of the widespread stereotype that we adore bears, and clubfooted ones, in turn, are very fond of their kindred Russian people. (website)

The animal was only three months old when it found itself in the house of the Panteleenko family. The weakened cub was discovered in the forest by hunters who believed that the cub's mother had died. Yuri and Svetlana took the bear to themselves and went out, calling it Styopa. This happened back in 1993, now Stepa, as is easy to calculate, is already twenty-three years old. He still lives with the people who saved him, with no plans to go free.

In one meal, a huge bear eats up to twenty-five kilograms of vegetables, eggs and fish. But his favorite treat is condensed milk. Styopa loves to sit on the sofa, watch TV, play with Yuri and Svetlana, and walk in the garden. The Panteleenkos consider the bear a full-fledged member of their family, and the clubfoot treats them like parents. Styopa knows how and loves to help people - for example, he happily digs and waters the garden.

The bear became a member of the family

The Panteleenkos are professional trainers, so they have almost no problems with such an unusual roommate. Yuri and Svetlana managed to raise an animal completely devoid of any aggressiveness. In his entire life, Styopa had never bitten anyone, even slightly. According to trainers, the secret of such upbringing lies in a respectful and trusting attitude towards the animal, as well as constant encouragement of its merits.

Photos from open sources

In captivity, as a rule, they live for about half a century, or even more, so Styopa, figuratively speaking, still has his whole life ahead of him. The two-meter bear is very playful and cheerful. He knows how to catch a ball, loves to jokingly wrestle with Yuri and loves being brushed. The tame clubfoot prefers to dine right at the table with its owners. Fortunately, there are no children in the house.

On the famous video hosting site YouTube, videos with Stepan collect millions of views. “Nothing surprising, an ordinary Russian family,” writes one of the English-speaking commentators. “I wonder who makes the furniture for them?” - another one is interested. However, many foreigners seriously expressed concern about the safety of the Russian family. “This is still a wild animal, and keeping it like this in an ordinary home is clearly dangerous,” says one user. The Panteleenko couple just chuckle at such comments, they say, we are Russians, what will a bear do to us?..

From the steam side Svetlana and Yuri Panteleenko They look like an ordinary Russian family, except for one fact - a huge 135-kilogram bear lives with them. The couple adopted into the family bear Styopa, when he was only 3 months old, and since then he has lived with them and even sometimes helps with the housework.

It is difficult to find a more stereotypical Russian family than Svetlana and Yuriy Panteleenko, because they live in a log house surrounded by birch trees and drink tea with a real bear.

Now Styopa is already 23 years old, he weighs 135 kg, and when he stands on his hind legs, his height is 213 cm. The bear is so domesticated that in the evenings he snuggles up to them while sitting on the couch while watching TV. The family claims that Styopa helps them with the housework, well, at least he knows how to water the beds in the summer.

But A big bear, this is also a big responsibility... in the sense of hunger. Every day Styopa eats 25 kg of fish, eggs, and vegetables. And of course, there’s no way without dessert. Styopa loves to eat condensed milk in cans.

If you want, you can even play ball with him. It costs Yuri nothing to throw Styopa to the ground and, scratching his belly, begin to fight him, without being afraid that the animal will bite off his head. True friend, which better than any security system will protect the house.

The main thing is that the robbers take the inscription “Beware of the angry bear” seriously, otherwise their stupid smile will be wiped off their faces in the blink of an eye if they decide to break into the house.

Stepan the bear has his own website. It says “Having become second parents for him, Yura and Sveta, raised Stepushka, making him a real circus artist and a movie star. Tapping is an exception to the rule. There are no such bears in nature. He is smart, kind and fabulously handsome. You can approach him and not only pet him, but also sit on his massive back and hold his powerful paw.”

Mishka Stepan is also known for his film roles: he starred in the films “Tsar”, “The Edge”, “Voronin” and many others. His biography includes about a dozen works. In addition, the bear has regularly taken part in New Year's parties for almost two decades. On this moment Styopa the bear finished filming the TV movie “Yolki - 4”, playing a cameo role there.

Last year, a photo shoot with Stepan the bear, mother and little daughter caused a real shock on foreign websites. Photographer Olga Barantseva captured the trembling moments. Mom and daughter on a picnic: here they are hugging the animal as if it were an ordinary pet.

A girl sits astride a bear. The predator receives treats, and, apparently, he is satisfied. But many foreign readers were outraged, saying how could one risk the life of a child by allowing him to be close to such a huge beast?

Olga Barantseva did not expect that her work would become famous throughout the world. He says that “there are a lot of such filming with animals.” Moreover, Stepan repeatedly posed for other photographers.

“Styopa is a great actor, he really is tame. How can you be afraid of him if he’s so cute,” admit the models who participated in Olga’s photo projects.