But Mrki's dark days seem to be coming to an end after the city's authorities and the public utility company that runs the zoo recently decided to build the bear a new cage up to international standards.
"It is going to be the best shelter for a bear in southeastern Europe," the zoo's manager Esad Tajic said proudly as bulldozers began digging up a large portion of land to prepare the site.
But the move did not become a major priority for the management until it was confronted with a lengthy, fierce public campaign led by SOS Sarajevo, a local organization for the prevention of animal cruelty.
"In any civilized country someone would end up in jail for such severe cruelty," said SOS Sarajevo activist Velimir Ivanisevic.
"Luckily, we managed to persuade them to do something this time."
Architects, SOS Sarajevo members and their sympathizers set up a foundation for donations towards the shelter of almost 500 square meters (5,380 square feet), much larger than standard cages.
Many are still concerned, however, about the mental condition of the eight-year-old bear after such a long period of confinement under such conditions, and no one knows if the new "penthouse" will be enough to help him completely recover.
Brown bears (
Ursus arctos) live in Bosnian woods and are protected species.
