By LEE MORAN

Bonding: Matevz Logar plays with Medo, who wandered into his garden in the Slovenian village of Podvrh


Medo, who takes his name from the Slovenian for bear, wandered into the garden of the Logar family four weeks ago. It is thought his mother abandoned him.

He's cute and cuddly - pictured here rolling about on a sofa, play-fighting with his adoptive father and hugging the family dog.

But come adulthood and the development of his natural instincts, it will be an entirely different matter.

It is for this reason that Medo the brown bear is at the centre of an extraordinary custody battle between the family that has taken him in and Slovenian animal experts.


Fans: Medo already has 550 supporters on a group dedicated to him on Facebook


The Logars are seeking permission to build an enclosure, on their land in the central Slovenian village of Podvrh, where the three-and-a-half month old will be able to live.

But the country's environment inspectors and vets have said it is too dangerous and are urging he be placed into a shelter for wild animals.


Cute and cuddly?: Medo is caught hugging the Logar family dog (left) and monkeying around in the trees (right)


Bearing up well: Matevz Logar looks on as Medo cheekily scampers across his car


Medo, who Slovenia's national newspapers have said has 'stolen the nation's hearts', now has more than 550 fans on Facebook.

Looking at these extraordinary photographs, it is easy to see why.

But it is also understandable that the authorities are exercising great caution with regards to Medo's future at Matevz Logar's home.


Hide and seek: Medo plays up to the camera during a photoshoot


In 2003 grizzly bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by one of the animals they were monitoring.

Treadwell spent 13 summers at Katmai National Park and Preserve, in Alaska, filming his subjects. Believing the bears trusted him, he would cosy up to them, thinking they were his friends.

German director Werner Herzog subsequently turned the footage into the 2005 film Grizzly Man, which scooped a host of awards including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film.


source: dailymail