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Unable to feed or fend for herself, Zoe (pictured) may have died if she was not rescued

Chased by a pack of sheepdogs, a three-month- old bear cub became separated from her family and found herself alone.

Unable to feed or fend for herself, Zoe may have died if she was not rescued by a charity and brought to a bear sanctuary in Greece.

There, the orphaned bear is learning the basics to survive in the wild so she can one day roam the hills again.

Experts at Arcturos Bear Sanctuary in Kastoria, north Greece, tried in vain to reunite the badly dehydrated young cub with her mother and are now teaching Zoe survival skills from a distance. 

Philip Mansbridge, CEO of UK charity Care for the Wild International, which helps fund the sanctuary, explained: 'At her age, Zoe really isn't equipped for being alone so being rescued has probably saved her life.

'The next step though is to train her so she can feed and fend for herself in the hope that she will be able to go back into the wild later this year.'

Since her arrival, Zoe has been kept in a fenced area with no human contact other than her two carers, a worker at the sanctuary told MailOnline.

When she was a cub, Zoe was fed five times a day, then four when she got stronger. When she is fully grown she will receive just one large meal a day.

The feeding process takes place in such a way that Zoe is encouraged to search for food. The fruit and nuts and vegetables, food that she will be able to find when she will be released, is not given directly to her, but it is hidden in different spots in her enclosure. Here, she discovers apples tucked behind a rock

Experts at Arcturos Bear Sanctuary in Kastoria, north Greece, tried in vain to reunite the badly dehydrated young cub with her mother and are now teaching Zoe (pictured) survival skills from a distance

This week it is hoped that Zoe will be released into a larger enclosure in the forest where she will regain some of her independence and can be trained before her final release at the end of the year.

'The feeding process takes place in such a way that she is encouraged to search for food.

'The fruit and nuts and vegetables, food that she will be able to find when she will be released, is not given directly to her, but it is hidden in different spots in her enclosure.

'This way Zoe is forced to search for her own food,' the sanctuary worker explained.

Zoe will be able to forage for wild berries and nuts in her new enclosure, which grow on bushes and trees there, preparing her for life in the wild.

At the moment, Zoe sleeps in a den made by staff at the sanctuary and there will be a similar one built in the wild for her when she is released, so she has somewhere cosy to sleep during the winter, when bears are lethargic.

Zoe will be able to forage for wild berries and nuts in her new enclosure, which grow on bushes and trees there, preparing her for life in the wild. Here, she attempts to sniff out some food that has been hidden

Young bear cubs are kept in a fenced area in the sanctuary with no human contact other than her two carers, a worker at the sanctuary told MailOnline. Here, two slightly larger bears are housed in a big enclosure

Zoe has been living at Arcturos Bear Sanctuary in Kastoria, north Greece (shown on the map) with other orphaned bears and those that were kept in homes or circuses

The worker said that Zoe is independent and strong.

'From the first day of her arrival she made it clear that she wouldn't care for hugs and lots of play with humans. She got used to the milk formula very quickly and every time we introduced her to any new type of food she would try it right away!

'She is very heavy and tall now, and she is ready for the next step.'

Releasing brown bear cubs like Zoe back into the wild is a difficult and dangerous thing to do, and has only been managed once before in Greece, when Arcturos successfully set two cubs free.

Philip Mansbridge, CEO of UK charity Care for the Wild International, which helps fund the sanctuary, explained: 'At her age, Zoe really isn't equipped for being alone so being rescued has probably saved her life.' Here she enjoys an apple in the safety of her enclosure

Zoe will be able to forage for wild berries and nuts in her new enclosure, which grow on bushes and trees there, preparing her for life in the wild, like this bear called Koukla

Releasing brown bear cubs like Zoe back into the wild is a difficult and dangerous thing to do, and has only been managed once before in Greece, when Arcturos successfully set two cubs free

Mr Mansbridge said: 'Zoe must be treated like a wild animal and not have too much human contact.
'In the wild, she'll wear a satellite collar so Arcturos can monitor her progress and hopefully she'll get on just fine.'

The worker said that Zoe will be released in a forest area where there is minimum human activity.

'It will be in a great distance from villages, farms and other human facilities. The previous time the two cubs released didn't cause any kind of trouble to the locals.'

There are usually around 10 bears at the sanctuary at any one time. They are usually orphaned cubs or ex captive bears from zoos or circuses. Some have been rescued from the dancing bear trade, which the sanctuary was instrumental in getting banned.

The worker said that Zoe will be released in a forest area where there is minimum human activity. 'It will be a great distance from villages, farms and other human facilities. The previous time the two cubs released didn't cause any kind of trouble to the locals'

There are usually around 10 bears at the sanctuary at any one time. They are usually orphaned cubs or ex captive bears from zoos or circuses

Some of the bears in the sanctuary (pictured) have been rescued from the dancing bear trade, which the sanctuary was instrumental in getting banned

Dancing bears were pierced with chains and 'trained' by standing on hot metal plates to lift their feet as if dancing.

Around 350 brown bears live in the northern parts of Greece, in one of the biggest populations of bears in southern Europe. The main threats to them are humans as well as loss of habitat.

They come into contact with humans relatively rarely because they are found only in the forests of central and northern Pindos and the Rhodope massif in the north of Greece.

Around 350 brown bears live in the northern parts of Greece, in one of the biggest populations of bears in southern Europe. The main threats to them are humans as well as loss of habitat. A bear named Kiriakos is pictured

Releasing brown bear cubs like Zoe back into the wild is a difficult and dangerous thing to do, and has only been managed once before in Greece, when Arcturos successfully set two cubs free (pictured in captivity)