Rescue Bears Chuoi, Tao and Le

Chuoi, Tao and Le were successfully rescued out of their cage for the last time

27.5.2019

After travelling more than 1,600 km, the three former bile bears Chuoi, Tao and Le have finally arrived at BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh.

The trio had been sharing a tiny 18m² cage for 20 years, before they were rescued in May 2019 by our FOUR PAWS Viet team. As cubs, they were stolen from their mothers and have been kept in the same cage ever since. When our team visited the private company site in Tan Uyen for the first time to visually check the bears, the inadequate living conditions were immediately apparent and worrying. The cage was outdoors and approximately 6 x 3 meters big, it had a concrete floor with only a wooden platform running along the back.

Since the local animal keeper had left the site, there was no-one to take care of the bears anymore, and luckily for the bears, this meant they were voluntarily given to our team.

Le, the smallest and most relaxed bear of the trio, was lured down from her platform to inspect the fruit she was given to her by our staff. Tao, the shy bear with the white stripe on her nose, was pacing up and down a lot showing clear signs of distress. Out of the three, Chuoi was in the most worrying state, this was already determined at the pre-visit to the site prior to their rescue. She has lost most of her fur, and her skin was irritated and itchy. However, their overall health condition was stable.

"When the team arrived to rescue the bears, they were so hungry, that they could be lured from their cage to the transport boxes with food."

Emily Lloyd, Animal Manager FOUR PAWS Viet

The journey from the Binh Duong Province to BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh took two days and the team and bears arrived on Sunday. Vet checks for all bears were immediately performed, and the bears are in quarantine until they can be released into their enclosures.

Update July 2019:

Chuoi suffered from massive hair loss, decisively caused by unsanitary and poor housing conditions, stress and bad food. Due to the medical care in the quarantine, the intensive care of our colleagues of FOUR PAWS Viet, a bear-friendly environment and food, after only a few weeks, Chuoi is not recognisable at Bear Sanctuary Ninh Binh.