Free the Bearsrescues threatened sun bears and moon bears from the illegal wildlife trade and bear bile farms. Recently, we learned about a tiny sun bear cub with a severe snare wound in the far south of Laos, more than 1,000 km away. Our rescue team leapt into action, departing at 4 a.m. to reach her as soon as possible. While we were on the road, our government partners confiscated the bear and brought her to their office.
At the same time, a second tiny, orphaned moon bear cub was found in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Once again, our government partners were able to confiscate the cub, and our rescue team picked up the moon bear on their return journey to our sanctuary. After collecting the sun bear and providing her with emergency treatment, a team member stayed behind to make room for the moon bear cub.
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These are the 31st and 32nd bears we’ve rescued in 2024—the highest number we’ve ever rescued in a single year—placing immense strain on our small nonprofit charity. Special thanks to our government partners from DOFI Pakse and DOFI Vientiane for assisting with these rescues, and thank you for being Bear Carers.
Initial picture we received of a snare injured sun bear cub
Emergency treatment required at the rescue location
Thanks to government partners from DOFI Pakse for the confiscation
Government partners from DOFI Vientiane confiscate an orphaned moon bear cub
The first thing we need to do is provide them with a safe, calm environment at our specialist Cub Nursery, have our vet team check their health, and ensure they receive a healthy diet. For the youngest cubs we rescue, this may involve bottle-feeding with a special milk formula. For most of the cubs, it doesn’t take long for our carers to build a relationship with them, gain their trust, and for the cubs to gain strength and confidence and start acting like playful cubs. Some of the bears we rescue are very traumatized and take longer to recover from the trauma.
Offical handover, thanks to DOFI Vientiane
Preparation for surgery on the sun bear cub
2 weeks after surgery, on the road to recovery
3 weeks after surgery – the sun bear cub is more strong, confident, wound healed
3 weeks after rescue – the shy and terrified moon bear cub is building trust, strength and confidence
Once older and recovered, the bear cubs will move to large outdoor enclosures
Due to a lack of safe and protected forest, they will require lifelong care at our sanctuaries
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