By Kate Harrold
MEET THE real life BEAR abandoned by his mum and raised by humans who now has a flourishing career modelling alongside adults and children.
In one image, a woman in a full-length fairy-tale dress held hands with the 750-pound bear as she leant in for a kiss.
In another, the bear wrapped its hands around a lollipop offered to him by one of his fellow models.
Photographer, Mila Zhdanova (40) from Moscow, Russia, met Stepan the 28-year-old bear through her friendship with the bear’s owners, Svetlana and Yuri Pantileenko. Stepan, who is a brown bear, has lived with humans his whole life after his mother abandoned him as a cub.
Inspired by Stepan’s friendliness around humans, Mila set out to create a series of fantasy-inspired scenes featuring Stepan posing alongside models in traditional Russian dress. The shoot was done across several months in Moscow, Russia, as Stepan only works for half an hour at a time.
“People have some stereotyped ideas about Russia. They think we never smile and have bears walking the street,” Mila said.
“We do have bears but I want to show in my pictures that we do smile. Shooting with Stepan is such a treat and I have to restrain my emotions.
“Stepan is so friendly thanks to his trainers’ care and love. I’ve worked with models from Thailand, Australia, Germany, Britain, and Israel who have all flown to work with Stepan.
“Some had heard of the modelling bear and had been dreaming of this for five years. The shoots are pure delight. There’s never any issues. I’ve had more problems photographing kittens.
“I hope people see the beauty and strength in animals and nature through my photos.”
The brown bear has become a widely used symbol in Russia. Most recently, it can be seen emblazoned on the logo of the United Russia political party which has maintained prominence since the early 2000s.
