Released bear thrives in his new home

Back in the summer, a wild bear was reported to International Animal Rescue's partner in India as he had strayed near a village on his hunt for food. He was captured by Wildlife SOS and taken to the International Animal Rescue and Free the Bears funded sanctuary in Agra, where he was declared fit and well, and ready to be released somewhere safe, away from human habitation. First though, he was fitted with a radio collar, which was delivered in person by International Animal Rescue's chief executive, Alan Knight. This would allow the bear to be tracked by the team and provide valuable insights into the behaviour of wild bears, for the benefit of future rescued bears as well as our current residents.

Below is an update from the field team: 

The radio collared sloth bear was released back in Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh.  We call him SB01 for purpose of our record keeping and research.  Here's an update on what SB01 has been up to for the past few months.

The first few days after the release of the bear (SB01), the radio signals we received showed the bear moving in the north eastern direction of the dense forest in the Suhelwa Tiger Reserve.

He remained in the same area for almost a week before he finally moved ahead closer to the border of the Tiger Reserve that shared boundaries with out neighboring country of Nepal. This got us a bit worried, knowing that Nats and other community poachers illegally trade bears into Nepal and kill them for their body parts. Our intelligence had confirmed presence of a lot of wire snares in Nepal and we were concerned.

Soon our bear SB01 crossed into the Nepal border and we lost all radio contact with him. With no radio signals our tracking team worked hard for over ten days climbing all the high points in the region trying to get a radio signal but didn't get any signal. Finally our field research team started gearing up for a visit to Nepal and meet with forest officials there to take their assistance in locating the bear, when one morning in August, much to our team's delight, we started receiving signals from the radio collar again.  Much to our relief, SB01 had crossed back into India and moved into West Suhelwa Range and away from the Indo-Nepal border.

It appear our bear SB01 is settling in well in the Suhelwa Tiger Reserve. The radio signals we are tracking indicate the bear is a densely forested area close to a large water reservoir, which we assume he selected due to the availability of food and the location being far away from human settlements.

The signals from bear SB01 also indicate deliberate avoidance of human settlements, which is a very positive sign.

On one occasion, we received signal of the bear being 15 kms away from a village near Dagmara.  We are prepared for receiving reports from villagers who may sight the bear, but SB01 did not go any closer to the village and nobody has reported any bear sightings so far. Fingers crossed!
In early September, there were radio signals received that placed him an area near Raniyapur dam. Our team is in the field tracking the bear and we shall keep you updated on his adventures and movements. Thank you for your support.

Building and rebuilding enrichment in Bannerghatta!

Kat Fingland’s third and final blog post from Bannerghatta

So I helped to build an enrichment item! And then I watched the bears attempt to destroy it...

There's a constant cycle of rebuilding enrichment items (like platforms, frames to hang balls and logs from, etc) which are then destroyed within literally a few days or even a few hours. The workers feed the bears in the morning and the afternoon, provide some enrichment food mid-way, and the rest of the day is pretty much spent putting things back together for the bears to ecstatically demolish again.

They are wily creatures...with the platform that I helped build, two of them worked together to dig out around the foundations before one of them climbed on top to give the whole structure a really good shake with its 130kg mass.


I rediscovered my gecko room mate who had managed to hide from me very well: he took up residence in my sink. Literally, inside the sink...down the little hole at the back of the bowl that helps to prevent overflows. I discovered this when I returned from the centre slightly earlier than usual one day and, on opening the bathroom door, managed to give both of us a fright as I surprised him and in response he flip-flopped all around the sink bowl before scampering back into his home.

The part of my study I enjoyed most was getting to sit and watch the bears...I've learnt so much about how they behave just through observing them and you can see their individual personalities. You get the chance to see some very funny behaviour too, like one bear who rugby tackled his dozing friend to instigate a mock fight or another playing in his water bowl on a particularly hot and sunny afternoon. It was great fun watching them with coconuts too, throwing them on the floor (they know to target concrete) in order to crack them open, before squabbling over the pieces. I've now received all of my data and am currently analysing it to see which food item was their favourite – from a first glance, coconut is the clear winner!

We had training in how to use GPS in order to track released animals - there's a female who will be released back into the wild soon, with a tracking collar to help provide more information about the lives of sloth bears in the wild, which will hopefully help reduce the number of human-bear conflicts that occur.

Unfortunately a trip to the hospital was also taken...I thought I was going to make it through without getting ill, but it wasn't to be. I had gastroenteritis for a few days, so although I was doing the typical British stiff upper lip ("honestly I'm fine, I don't need a doctor" while curled up in a ball on the floor) Dr Arun, rightly, made me take a trip to the hospital. I was given a supply of antibiotics and supplements to help me try and shift it.

My last few days were really good fun! I spent some time with one of the guys, Deepak, and his friends, going bowling and go karting, and then out to drinks at a roof top bar, watching the fireworks all over Bangalore city as processions took their Ganesha idols down to the lakes to submerge them.

I was also pretty surprised that the enrichment I made was still standing when I left – that’s British engineering for you!

On the last day, I also went on a safari around the national park (seeing elephants, lions, tigers, white tigers and, of course, the bears) and went to the zoo and the butterfly house. I said goodbye to the guys and thanked them for their hospitality - it was actually quite sad saying goodbye as this has certainly been a truly unforgettable experience.

International Animal Rescue: A New Life for Shakir

Reproduced below is an account by our Indian partners Wildlife SOS of the effectiveness of the Kalandar rehabilitation programme. The Kalandars are traditionally a nomadic people who have relied for centuries on dancing bears for a living. With support from International Animal Rescue and Free the Bears Australia, the programme played a vital part in the Kalandars’ willingness to surrender their bears and embark on a new way of life.

In our attempt to solve the problem of 'Dancing Bears' in India, we worked with an approach that would not only free the bears from their cruel owners but also would provide a different life for the Kalandars. We needed to stop sloth bears being taken from the wild and used for entertainment. We understood that in order to do that we needed a holistic programme. Something that addressed the poverty of the Kalandar tribe and ensured the conservation of sloth bears in the wild. The Kalandar families were living from hand to mouth and the bears were their only source of income. In many cases Wildlife SOS provided jobs to the Kalandar people at the rescue centres for the bears, in others we tried to provide alternative livelihoods.

One such example is of Shakir Kalandar, who now has a changed life. Shakhir is a 22 year old that lives in a village called Korai in Uttar Pradesh. His grandparents used to dance bears until they surrendered their bears to Wildlife SOS.

In 2011, Shakir met with an accident that stopped the flow of blood in his left hand.  His nerves were damaged from the shoulder joint which made it impossible for him to do any kind of work with it. "It was such a traumatic situation for me, I had a family to support and I was not able to get a job." Shakir tried to work as a labourer at a construction site after surrendering his bear. "After the accident, everywhere I went for a job they rejected me because of my hand. I went through a major crisis for more than two years that included starvation and poverty," he added.

Shakir approached Wildlife SOS in the hope of being freed from his wretched situation.  After being reassured by Geeta Seshamani, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, he was optimistic about a new life. Shakir expressed, "Geeta ma'am assured me that Wildlife SOS would help and support me. In the next few days a team from the NGO came to my house and sponsored a small grocery shop for me worth Rs 7500. I am grateful to the organisation for understanding my pain and taking immediate action to help me."

Now Shakir runs a small grocery shop in his village where he caters to the daily needs of his community and he is able to earn an approximate income of Rs. 3000 per month. This income is used to run his house and take care of his health necessities. The economic empowerment of the Kalandar man will provide him with a dignified life and help him feed his family.

International Animal Rescue: Life among the bears and other animals

Kat's second blog post from Bannerghatta

Working in the national park is ideal for seeing the animals that are indigenous to India. In the week or so I've been here, in addition to the elephant that we spotted on my first day, I've now also seen a family of wild boar (piglets included), lots of different birds, deer, hares, a macaque monkey and several mongooses.

Speaking of elephants, the Wildlife SOS team was sent to rescue one on Sunday: apparently it had wandered near to a village and the locals all went to look at it, but it became frightened and charged, tragically killing a small boy. Wildlife SOS was called in to drive the elephant away from the village - hopefully the elephant was sufficiently frightened by the experience that it won't go back.

There's still a lot to get used to here: the culture is just so different to the UK and we spend a lot of time discussing the differences between our countries. Particularly the food - it is all very tasty, but I think I normally have curry about once every six months at home!

During the week, the Wildlife SOS team was called to another rescue - this time a leopard caught in a snare. As they were about to dart it in order to cut it free and give it a general health check, it jumped and managed to free itself. As long as his paw isn't too badly injured he should be fine, which is a relief. They even brought the snare back to the centre, complete with tufts of leopard fur...

During the week, we had an escapee bear. The cheeky thing had managed to dig a huge hole, find a gap in the massive stone wall and squeeze himself out. He knew he'd done something bad though: as the workers approached him, he sheepishly ran back in with a guilty look. This is currently being resolved to ensure he doesn't escape again! 

For my study, I have been asked to find out which food enrichment item the bears prefer: so we are giving the bears six food items (watermelon, coconut, ground nuts, Pedigree biscuits, dates and monin [syrup] - there are others that they provide, based on the season and what is available for purchasing, but these six are most regularly used and readily available) in their "socialising enclosure" to forage for. I am noting down the order in which they find them and how long they spend with each item.It's really interesting to watch them pop open a watermelon so easily and slurp out the insides within seconds - you can see with those claws and that strength why an enraged bear is so dangerous!

There's one bear in particular, called Madhan, who loves coconut - for the last few days, all he has eaten is the coconut. As this research is being repeated every day, the bears are starting to learn that the six items are available but they only have a certain time limit, so they will ignore less preferred items that they have found in order to track down their favoured ones (returning to the skipped ones only once all their preferred ones have been found and eaten.) Madhan, in particular, will gloss over all the other items in order to find the coconut and he will then spend up to half an hour scraping every last piece out with his claws.

It seems to be going quite well so far. More news and results next week once I have finished...

Bear diaries blog by Kathryn Fingland from the UK

So, I have arrived...my first ever time in Asia, let alone India. I already get the feeling it's going to be unlike anything I have ever experienced before.

The people at Wildlife SOS are very welcoming and friendly to me, giving me beer and always making sure I have enough food and sleep to recover from my jet lag. And we all share the same interest in wildlife and conservation (although when I’m talking about the foxes and badgers in my garden, they're talking about trying to avoid stepping on cobras in theirs!)

I've now had my first couple of days at the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre...I've seen a wild elephant, come nose-to-nose with a Sumatran tiger and, of course, met the bears!

The centre is based quite far into the national park, so sightings of wild leopards, elephants and sloth bears have been reported by those who work there. Luckily, we managed to spot an elephant in the trees at the side of the road. It was only brief (maybe 5 seconds or so) but I still felt very lucky to see one, and so close, on my first day!

The centre also houses two tigers: a Royal Bengal tiger which was caught in a snare and sadly had to have his paw amputated and a Sumatran tiger that was rescued from the UK where someone had been keeping him as a pet. I was kneeling down at the barrier to the Sumatran tiger's enclosure to look at him sunbathing, when he decided to come have a look at me too. He came right up to where I was kneeling and pushed his nose up to the wire to give me a good sniff, so he was less than a foot away and separated only by the fence! Tigers really are beautiful animals and it was so amazing to be that close.

I've also been introduced to the daily routine of looking after the bears, and spent some time observing them throughout the day. Every morning they are fed a mix of porridge, honey and milk, and the "slurping" noise they make eating this is deafening! It's rather like the noise you get when you're drinking a milkshake through a straw and you're down to the dregs... The staff have to get up at 3am to start making this breakfast, which shows commitment! The bears also make a humming sound, sounding exactly like a swarm of bees, when they are resting and contented, which is quite a relaxing background noise.

I'm starting my research tomorrow (doing the trial run before starting it properly on Monday for two weeks) as I have now finalised the plans with Dr Arun, so I will write another blog soon explaining what I am (trying) to do and how it is progressing.

That’s all for now!

An update on the bears rescued in February

This is an update on the four bears rescued from the Indo-Nepal border in February of this year. For the original news piece on the rescue, please click here to read it on our website.

Michael Oreo

Michael Oreo loves the fresh fruit basket
delivered to his den every morning!

Michael Oreo (formerly known as Oreo, but renamed Michael Oreo in honour of one of our biggest and best supporters) is three years old, and was rescued from the Nepalese border by Wildlife SOS in February this year. He weighed 86kg, and has put on a further 8kg since his arrival at International Animal Rescue’s Agra Bear Sanctuary. His keeper says the bear is a big fan of porridge and fruit, and particularly enjoys the sugarcane enrichment! He also enjoys playing with the ball in his den.

He was recently introduced to Goldie, one of the other bears seized in the raid. They get on really well, and enjoy playing together. Michael Oreo loves playing with water, and splashes it out of his drinking tub at every opportunity! He is surprisingly bold around his keeper, and does not seem worried by strangers.

This lovely bear is undergoing treatment for a mild respiratory tract infection as diagnosed from his initial chest radiograph and blood analysis results. Sadly his dental exam revealed that all his canine and incisor teeth are missing. This will be closely monitored by his keeper to ensure that he can eat properly and that any infection (as a result of the crude way his teeth were knocked out by poachers) is caught and treated swiftly.

Truffles

Truffles waits by the door of his den hoping
for a second breakfast!

Truffles is a mischievous and affectionate bear, aged around fifteen months old. He is still in quarantine after his dramatic rescue from the Nepalese border in February, along with three others.

Touchingly, Truffles was so ecstatic when the coarse rope - which had been forced through his soft muzzle by the poachers - was cut away, that he rubbed his nose along the ground before dashing outside into his run, running round and round as if to celebrate his freedom.

His keeper describes him as a happy-go-lucky bear, who greets him with “bear hugs” and nudges when he arrives each morning with breakfast. He is a bear who enjoys his food, and has grown very fond of the keeper who supplies it!

Fortunately, Truffles’ dental examination did not reveal any serious issues, and the visiting dental team from the UK (blog post to follow!) gave them a thorough clean. However, it was clear that there had been an attempt to break his teeth when he was very young, as his teeth have grown through with the tips broken off. This does not seem to have caused him any problems, though.

Truffles’ love of food has resulted in a weight gain of 5kg, putting him at 67kg. He loves porridge so much he puts his whole face into his bowl rather comically to make sure he doesn’t miss a single precious oat! He likes to play with fruit before munching it, and like, Michael Oreo, enjoys splashing in his water tub, treating it like a miniature swimming pool!

Unlike Michael Oreo, Truffles is quite wary of strangers, and prefers them to keep their distance.

Kandi

Kandi is doing well in quarantine

Kandi is believed to be around two years old, and was rescued alongside Michael Oreo, Truffles and Goldie in February. He is quite small for his age and has lots of growing to do, weighing only around 60kg. He is a friendly little bear, and enjoys lots of attention, making him very popular with the keepers.

His appetite is quite small, and he will often not finish his evening meal of porridge, but tucks into the fruit with gusto. He loves to splash around with his water, and when the keepers hose his den down, he tries to wrestle the hosepipe away from them to spray the water on himself!

Kandi has a painful infected injury to one of his claws, but it is responding well to treatment. It hasn’t dampened Kandi’s spirits, and he seems to be enjoying his temporary stay in quarantine.

Goldie

Goldie is blind, and suffered terribly at the hands
of his captors

Goldie has the saddest story of the four bears rescued in February. Aged just five years old, he is already blind in both eyes. He weighed 98kg on arrival, which for a male bear of his age is a little underweight. He displayed signs of tremendous hunger, yet he was not eating properly. Consequently, one of the on-site vets sedated him and did a full medical examination of him.

Thanks to this diligence, it was discovered that poor Goldie was suffering from a serious infection in a rotten upper canine tooth. His Kalendar “master” has been particularly brutal and careless towards Goldie, and he has probably suffered from unbelievable pain throughout his life. Fortunately, the dental team from the UK were in Agra in April, and removed this tooth. Goldie is now enjoying his diet of porridge and fruits, and has put on weight since the successful operation.

It is not yet known if his sight will be able to be restored or if the damage done to his eyes (probably by the rope through his nose rubbing on his optic nerve) is permanent. What we do know is that if it is possible to restore his sight, then our fantastic vet team will do it!

The rehabilitation and lifelong care of these four sloth bears will be expensive. If you can, please visit our website to make a donation. If you are unable to make a financial contribution, please share this post on Facebook, Twitter, via email and any other way you can think of to help raise awareness of the work we are doing to protect India's bears!

Balu Ay Gaya!

By Vinay Datla and Nikki Sharp, Communications Team at Wildlife SOS

International Animal Rescue’s  partner in India, Wildlife SOS, recently undertook a dramatic rescue of an adult sloth bear, from the village of Shikohabad, about 75km outside of Agra, where our bear sanctuary is located. A call about a wild bear was received by Dr. Ilyaraja at nine am, and he promptly deployed a rescue team. After a two hour journey, the team reached the village, where an adult sloth bear was discovered in the middle of a dry storm drain. It was very dark inside the drain, which was estimated to be around 40 feet in length. Without a long a torch in the rescue kit, the villagers used a mirror and directed the natural light from the sun into the storm drain.

With a transport cage and a net to hand, Dr. Ilyaraja decided to cover the dry storm drain on one end with the cage and the other end with the net. Dr. Ilyaraja managed to dart the bear with sedation through the netting as planned. After waiting about 15 minutes for the drug to take effect, a member of the rescue team, Santyender, went into the storm drain with a long stick and tested the bear’s response. The bear was still conscious, and started moving backwards towards the cage, as planned. 

The sedated bear in the storm drain

The team at this point thought the rescue was a success, as the bear moved into the cage, but suddenly the villagers shouted, “balu aa gaya”(“bear has come”). The bear, spooked, ran towards the other end right towards Santyender, who narrowly escaped a direct encounter with the frightened sloth bear. The bear reached the net and broke free. The villagers who were responsible for holding the net were understandably scared by the force of the angry sloth bear, dropped the net and ran away.  The bear was left tangled in the net. Two members of the rescue team, Raj Kumar and Veeru, bravely held on to the net to contain the bear while Dr. Ilyaraja attempted to dart the bear again. Unfortunately, he missed, which can happen when one tries to dart a bear in open spaces! The angry and aggressive bear managed to escape recapture. At this point Dr Ilyaraja found himself face to face with the bear... He had a dog-catcher in his hand and attempted to catch the bear. The bear almost attacked him, but fortunately ran away instead.

The bear evaded the villagers and escaped into nearby wheat and potato fields about a kilometre away, resting in the shade under a tree before getting spooked by villagers again. The bear moved on, now about two and a half kilometres from the place where it was initially darted. Eventually the bear was successfully darted and immobilized.

Santyender covered the bear eyes with a cloth and the team carried the bear for almost a kilometre. With an additional dose of tranquiliser, the bear was loaded into a cage and the cage was then placed into the vehicle. The team left the village at 3:30pm and arrived back at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility at 5:30pm. At the facility, the animal was observed for injuries and general condition. The bear has now been fully examined and deemed releasable and should be released soon when an appropriate release location has been determined.

An exciting rescue for the team, and certainly not a straightforward one – well done Wildlife SOS! 

Agra bear sanctuary in India enables visitors to take a walk on the wild side!

Signage at the entrance to the walkway

India’s first Wildlife Conservation Education Walkway has been opened at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility funded by International Animal Rescue. The walkway, built by IAR’s partners Wildlife SOS, is designed to raise awareness of the ecological importance of endangered sloth bears and other native Indian wildlife which is increasingly threatened by rampant habitat destruction and deforestation, leading to increased human-animal conflict.

The elevated platform

The walkway was inaugurated by Mr Mahendra Aridaman Singh, Transport Minister of the Uttar Pradesh Government on 15 January 2013. It has been built using environmentally friendly bamboo, stone and solar energy to power interactive signage.  The aim is to educate school children in particular and encourage future generations to behave responsibly and in an environmentally friendly manner towards India’s forests and wildlife.

The raised walkway

The Conservation Education Walkway is a 1500ft long nature education and interpretation facility highlighting bear poaching and other threats and conservation challenges facing sloth bears in India. The route is rich with educational signage, leading to a platform elevated on 13ft high stone pillars level with the tree line, so that the bears can be observed without disturbance.

Billboards along the walkway also highlight the eight species of bears found in the world and their geographical distribution, as well as describing and depicting the other endangered wildlife present in Uttar Pradesh forests.

Deputy Conservator of Forests, Chambal – Sujoy Bannerjee, IFS said “By establishing the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, Wildlife SOS and its partners brought an end to the illegal practice of bear dancing for which sloth bear cubs were poached in Uttar Pradesh and other states. The UP Forest Department subsequently asked Wildlife SOS to establish an education facility to assist with conservation education and public awareness-raising and the walkway will be an extremely valuable tool to sensitise our people to bear conservation in India.”

Wildlife SOS Chairperson, Kartick Satyanarayan said “Our efforts to protect and conserve sloth bears in the wild combines tackling the poaching of bears for gall bladder used for Chinese Traditional Medicine and also poaching of bear cubs for use as dancing bears as well as for bear baiting in Pakistan. Our efforts have been successful thanks to the support and cooperation of the UP Forest Department and the police.

View of the bears from the walkway

“The creation of this educational walkway is just the beginning. We still require a great deal of infrastructure and development to make it a richer and more interactive experience which leads people on beyond the issue of bears to larger issues of forest and ecosystem conservation. We have ambitious plans and will be collaborating with various international organisations on the design of interactive educational material for school children.”

IAR Chief Executive Alan Knight added: “Public awareness-raising and education are vital for the protection of bears and other endangered wildlife in India. The walkway is an excellent way of introducing an educational element into the sanctuary: it literally leads visitors along a path of discovery in the midst of some of the wonderful wildlife they are learning about.”

A Day in the Life of a Bear Keeper

When Sreekanta came to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility to repair the solar power fence, little did he know everything was going to change from that day on! He worked on the enclosures in the morning and during lunch he would watch keepers like Mubarak and the others feeding the bears and going about their chores. After seeing how everything was done and watching an old bear walk slowly to the keeper and rub against him, Sree, as he is lovingly called by the Wildlife SOS staff at the centre, suddenly knew that was exactly what he wanted to do with his life. So he signed up with Wildlife SOS to become a full time Paravet and a bear caretaker at the Agra Bear Sanctuary. Nine years have passed since then and he has more stories than most zoo keepers about the cubs he has hand raised, all of whom are large grown up bears now. 

I found out more about Sree’s life with the bears:

Q.1 – What are your daily duties? 
A- My day starts at the Wildlife SOS centre at 7am in the morning.  I start by washing out the bear dens and then, once they are clean, I bring large quantities of porridge from the kitchen for the bears. I then wash all the bear plates and pour the porridge out, putting in the boiled eggs, dates and a handful of chopped fruits. I keep a close watch on the amount of food and medicines that are supposed to be given to each bear because often even the smallest change in their food habits can alert us to something wrong with a bear. After feeding it is cleaning again and then I cut up branches, prepare food balls, honey logs and other such enrichments to be scattered and hidden in the enclosures. That’s my favourite part of the day.  After that it is fruit feeding, cleaning and then cooking the porridge for the evening feed. I also take care of para veterinary work and I enjoy the challenge of helping treat these beautiful animals!

Q.2- Every keeper has a few favourite animals, who are yours?
A- I really care about all the bears but I must confess that I do have a soft spot for the bear cubs I fostered with my own hands. I have hand reared many cubs and Layla, Giri, Guna, Nakul, Kuber, Chamundi, Anandi and Deva remain my favourite bears.

Q.3- How did you start taking care of the bear cubs? 
A- These were really small bear cubs rescued by Wildlife SOS from poachers who had stolen the cubs from the mothers. I was on the night shift the day the cubs arrived at the centre and I spent the entire night working with the vets Dr Ilayaraja and Dr Arun at the centre keeping an eye on the cubs. My curiosity made me work with the cubs but then I became very fond of them and I enjoyed looking after them, staying up all night and feeding them every three to four hours. Sometime the cubs get scared and need calming down. When I had to leave the next evening the bear cubs refused to let go of me and started screaming as if they did not want me to leave. This helped me make up my mind and after that I asked Wildlife SOS to give me the bear cub care duty in addition to my other duties. My work started initially with only two bear cubs but I genuinely loved caring for the little ones. So I went on to care for more and more cubs. It makes me feel like a responsible father.

Q.4- How many cubs have you hand reared?
A- I never had the time to count as the cubs kept me busy all the time, but I think I would have helped rear at least 20 of them. Their ages always varied so the amount of work was always different. There was never a boring moment.

Q-5- Are there any memorable incidents that come to your mind? 
A – One night Layla bear cub suddenly got very sick at about 2am and I sensed she was ill. I stayed up all night for several days to nurse her. I asked the vet to look at her and then this encouraged me to learn para-veterinary skills from the vets at the centre. When you watch these cubs at close quarters, you realise they have likes and dislikes, have moods that differ and each one of them has a different habit. Like Kuber, the elder cub at BBRC had a habit of sucking on Nakul’s ear and we never understood why until we realised that he would resort to this behaviour when he felt stressed.

Q.6- Have you gone on any rescue operations? 
A- Oh yes! I have gone on rescue operations and have helped transport bear cubs over thousands of kilometres by road and by air! It was never easy as the cubs have to be kept calm as any noise could stress them out.

Q-7- Apart from bears, have you taken care of any other animals? 
A – I have taken care of several animals other than bears – pangolin (ant eater), spotted deer fawn, hog deer fawn, baby monkey and several injured birds. But the bears are closest to my heart – they can be feisty or fearful, inquisitive or shy, calm or just a little bit crazy – but always fun to be around and never ever dull!

Written by Aishu Sudarshan

Enriching the lives of our rescued bears

Wildlife correspondent Aishu Sudarshan provides an insight into how we enrich the lives of the bears at our sanctuaries...

Most of us have a fond childhood memory of a playground where the seesaw was stiff and rusty and you had to be a daredevil on the jungle gym to join the cool gang. The reason we were taken to parks as children was not just for our mothers to get some quiet time. It was also to help improve us mentally and physically. The park made us stronger not just by swinging higher than everyone else, but by teaching us new routes, new tricks, making us plan our play time and by pushing us into climbing the highest part of the climbing frame.

Wild bears get their enrichment from climbing trees, hiding from predators, digging holes, foraging for food and various other natural activities. But things were slightly tougher when it came to the rescued  dancing bears. Not only were they domesticated by their Kalandar owners, but they had no clue how to get into a termite mound or even try and dig a trench.

After rescuing more than 600 bears we knew we had a big tough job on our hands. We had to keep their minds stimulated and help them forget their brutal past. We had to keep in mind their mental and physical wellbeing and decided to take baby steps at helping them become wild bears again.

Our first step was to reintroduce them to climbing to improve their mobility and reduce the abnormal repetitive behaviour seen in most dancing bears. The Climbing Frame started off as a one story platform with wooden rungs for footholds. It was made out of thin logs and rope. We never realized the strength of a fully grown bear until we saw one break the entire frame in a fit of anger!  Over the years we have succeeded in making stronger frames which 3- 5 bears can climb on at the same time.

From frames we gradually progressed to Hammocks. We started making them out of large jute sacks that were attached on 4 corners to strong logs of wood. Apart from a few instances where a bear has pulled out the entire hammock, we have been pretty successful. Today, our hammocks vary from high ones that are made of fire hose, to ones that can fit two bears and are attached to a climbing frame.

In the last few years various enrichments have been given the vote of approval by the bears: others have been ditched after failing to make the grade. But after many trials and even more errors we stumbled upon 2 methods that were and still are winners: the fruit barrel and the termite mound.

The fruit barrel is a simple contraption that involves 3 pieces of wood and a big drum. All you do is make holes at regular intervals all around the drum and on the two ends. Push a stick through the end holes and hey presto! The barrels are filled with fruits and only if rolled will the fruits drop. The most hilarious visual is to watch the cubs roll the barrel and try to push their snout inside. It took them a while to get the hang of how the barrel rolled but once they caught on there was no rolling back!!

The termite mounds were an experiment that turned out perfectly. The idea began as a play toy for the cubs where a slightly out of shape bucket was used to introduce them to sucking liquids and mashed fruits. The bucket took a beating after the cubs started to grow and we needed sturdier things to survive their wrath. That was when a large cemented mound was made with pipes at various levels. This has been a huge success with the cubs at all our centres and was also introduced to the blind and partially sighted bears.

Our latest and by far the most exciting enrichment was introduced to us by the generous and kind Free the Bears Fund volunteers from Australia. They brought along with them a wonderful innovation called the  Aussie Dog Ball that was created to help stabled equines with mental and physical enrichment. Today it is a craze with pets and wild animals that are bred in captivity.  These balls are round and made of a hard material that is light and can take a few thrashings. It has an opening on one side through which fruits and various treats are put in. it is then rolled into the enclosure and the enriching part is to see how many bears use skill instead of strength to get the food out.  We were amazed to see the cubs dig out the food more quickly than the others because of their small paws!

Each enrichment that is added to the enclosure always guarantees two things, 1. The sight of a bear’s hidden strength being used in attempting to destroy the enrichment, 2. The chance to watch even the laziest bear try his hand at working out the enrichment  before he goes back to his favourite shady spot. Now that truly is an enriching experience!

Watch a video of the bears testing out some of the enrichments

Meals in bed and plenty of playing and digging: a day in the life of Nakul the bear cub

Wildlife correspondent Aishu Sudarshan introduces a resident of our bear rescue facility in Bannerghatta

Nakul soon after he first came to our centre

Fifteen month old Nakul came to the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre as a three month old cub who was scared and intimidated by the number of people around him. Nakul and his brother Kuber were rescued from poachers in Karnataka who had killed their mother and stolen the two cubs.  After they were rescued by the law enforcement agencies and the forest department they were taken to BBRC and that was when it all changed. For the first three months of his life Nakul didn’t have a home, he was with humans all the time, was hidden in a gunny bag when the situation called for it and was shown off to various interested buyers.

On his first day at the centre, Nakul was terrified: he perhaps feared us as prospective buyers and would scream if anyone touched him. The minute he entered the enclosure, he ran to the water trough and finished off almost every drop. His journey and his fear of the crowd had made him thirsty! We were sure Nakul was hungry too so the boys cut some watermelons, papayas and pomegranates and offered it to him. It took less than five minutes before the plate was licked clean and he sniffed around searching for any pieces that he had missed!

Nakul loves his hammock!

Thankfully Nakul’s muzzle wasn’t pierced and his canines were intact. He was just bruised in various places and had small wounds here and there - apart from that he was a healthy cub.  He started growing stronger and more active as the days passed and was equally mischievous: he would climb everything in sight and chew on everything possible. We still remember the first time he sat on a hammock. We were sure he was in love. He would expect everything to be brought to the hammock: the boys had to move the water closer so he could just bend and drink it whenever he felt like it, and even his fruits had to be given there! His infatuation hasn’t died down: even a year later the hammock is Nakul’s favourite object.

Nakul now enjoys life at BBRC

Today, Nakul weighs 45 kgs and is dewormed and vaccinated. He is a determined boy who can pull a whole watermelon down from the enrichment after trying for a while. He enjoys papayas, apples and loves porridge.

It has been a long journey for Nakul and his brother and we are glad they are here now and no longer in the hands of heartless people who would have made them dance and traipse along the streets for hours on end. We also hope Nakul continues to enjoy his hammock, relish the fruits and porridge and pass his time happily digging and wrestling with his brother.

Introducing Ambika

Wildlife correspondent Aishu Sudarshan introduces another of the residents at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility. 

Everyone at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility still remembers when Ambika arrived. It was winter and things seemed even gloomier when we saw how badly neglected she was. She had not a single tooth in her mouth. She was undernourished, smelly and miserable. We believe she understood things were going to change though, because she was quiet and allowed the keepers and vets to approach her with great docility. Her first diagnosis was a poor appetite and a septic muzzle; an enlarged liver and congested lungs. It took her a while even to understand that fruits are to be eaten, because for six years all she had been fed on were plain rotis (Indian bread).

Today Ambika is a healthy 121 kg bear who doesn’t just eat her fruits but relishes them. Her biggest discovery since the day she arrived is eggs! She loves them and will always be the first one to eat the boiled eggs in her porridge. She is now healthy, active and has a luxuriant coat. When she isn’t dreaming about eggs she enjoys playing with Abha and Archana at mock fighting, wrestling, and climbing the platforms.

Her keeper says Ambika’s favourite pastime is to empty all the water from the trough. She loves playing with it and will be seen splashing around and slurping water most of the time. We are always glad when a bear is doing what she loves, whether it is snuffling out eggs in her porridge, play wrestling with her friends - or making waves in the water trough!

Introducing Valmiki

Wildlife correspondent Aishu Sudarshan, tells us about Valmiki, who is living happily at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility. 

When Valmiki arrived as a 3 year old male bear after being rescued from a Kalandar in Nepal, he was dehydrated, pitifully thin and with a sparse, dull coat. On the way over to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, he managed to remove the rope that went through his muzzle –a symbolic gesture if ever there was one! He was friendly and cooperative, seemingly fully understanding that we were here only to help him and make him get better. 

It has been a year and a half since Valmiki arrived and we are just so glad he is here. His appetite has shown drastic improvement because he went from being a frail 60 kilo bear to the 102 kg weight he is today. Titli bear is his best friend and you will watch them both fighting for hammock space and digging the ground intently. Valmiki loves climbing and keeps juggling between the climbing frames and the trees. If there is one thing his keeper, Gopal, tells us it is that he eats extremely fast and is always given a second helping. If he isn’t given one you will hear continuous calling, grunting and nudging to get Gopal’s attention.  

We are delighted that now Valmiki’s muzzle has healed, his coat is fluffy and thick and he is safely vaccinated against diseases.  It warms our hearts to see him running around, climbing trees, stealing watermelons and just being a beautiful boisterous bear!