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Workers at a bear sanctuary in Kosovo are working hard to look after a lion who seems puzzled by the heavy snowfall in his enclosure.

The big cat, who originally hails from the heat of Africa, is seen padding about in the unfamiliar surroundings and then heads back inside to the warmth of its heated pen.

After the winter's first snowfall blanketed the Pristina Bear Sanctuary, the staff found that some of their bears didn't bother to hibernate, preferring to guzzle down buckets of vegetables thrown into their enclosure.

Gjon pictured in his enclosure at the Pristina Bear Sanctuary. /Reuters

The lion, named Gjon, was rescued last year from a local restaurant where he was kept to amuse clients. He is expected to be transported to South Africa once legal hurdles are overcome.

"We know that this is not their ideal environment for survival, but we have created a comfortable space for the winter and installed a heater that greatly helps him," said Albana Hoti, head of animal and facilities management at the sanctuary.

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The sanctuary, home to 20 brown bears, is managed by Four Paws International, a non-profit group dedicated to animal welfare. The bears have a similar story to Gjon's, in that they were caged in local restaurants - having been removed from local forests - before being rescued.

"Four or five of our bears do not go on a full hibernation because they never experienced their wild life and this is all what they can do, they hibernate a little bit and then again they go out," said Hoti, who added that 16 of the sanctuary's other bears do go into full hibernation.