Patrick HughesSouth of England, Sandown

BBC One of the bears. He is close to the camera but separated from it by a thin metal fence. He is looking to the right, out of frame, but his face takes up most of the right hand side of the frame. In the background is the bears' enclosure with rocks, grass and some wooden platforms, with another fence seen around its perimeter. BBC

Benji and Balu have been living in an animal sanctuary on the Isle of Wight since June of this year

Staff caring for two brown bears rescued from a small cage in Azerbaijan have said the pair are now relaxed and thriving.

Benji and Balu were thin and frail when they took their first steps into their new enclosure in Wildheart Animal Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight in June this year.

But Lucie Francis, who looks after them, said they had reached a healthier weight and become the main attraction of the rescue centre.

The bears also celebrated their first Christmas on the island in style, being treated to colourful gifts full of food hidden around their pen.

Lucie has long brown hair and is wearing a black jacket and a thick grey scarf. She is looking to the right, at the reporter who is out of frame. In the background is the bears' large enclosure, with rocks, bare trees and grass.

Lucie said Benji was the “naughty” one of the two bears

“They’ve really packed on some pounds, and you can see it in the contrast in the images when we look back,” said Ms Francis.

“It’s like different bears, it’s quite incredible.”

Shortly after arriving in June, the bears had smashed up part of their enclosure.

Ms Francis said: “Benji is definitely the naughty one out of the two, he’s broken and dug things up and been quite adventurous

“So it’s kept us on our toes, having to repair everything in his wake.

“Balu on the other hand is much more relaxed, he just sort of chills out in the background.”

The bears were treated to colourful Christmas presents filled with food hidden around their enclosure.

One of them wandered off to enjoy his present in peace.

Ms Francis said before the bears got settled, the team did not know what to expect, but suspected they might show some behaviour associated with trauma.

“We did see some of [that] to start with, but it really rapidly reduced once they became comfortable in their environment,” she said.

“It’s been lovely to see them relax and thrive.”

The bears celebrated their first Christmas on the island with colourful gifts full of food hidden around their pen

And she said the two are getting along with each other “like siblings” although they did squabble sometimes.

“I think they’ve stolen everybody’s hearts, honestly,” she said.

“They’ve really been the main attraction at the sanctuary – everybody’s been desperate to see them.”