Life after the circus: Miserable brown bears are kept muzzled in cages by their former tamer after the animals were ditched and left homeless by Russia's state show

Feeding time: Russian man Pavel Kurya is housing two bears at his own house after they became surplus to requirement at a circus

The bear tamer keeps the animals in cages at his dacha - a country house - in the Kalachyovsky District of Volgograd Oblast, Russia

The bears, believed to be called Egor and Heaven, once performed with a circus before the company downsized in 2014

Rather than abandoning the giant animals, Kurya took them in and has looked after them at his home ever since

Pictures show one of the muzzled bears taking a dip in a pool at the dacha and another taking a seat on a specially made chair (pictured)

The rescued bears are being looked after at a house in the Kalachyovsky District of Volgograd Oblast, south western Russia

Kurya stands next to one of his two bears. He took the animals in after the circus where they once performed decided to downsize

Bear tamer Kurya is able to feed the muzzled animals by hand. One of the bears is pictured standing up on its back legs before being given a snack

One of the bears reclines on a specially adapted chair while another one looks out from a cage at the house in Russia

Animal tamer Pavel Kudrya is pictured near one of the cages. He has looked after the animals ever since they became surplus to requirement at a circus