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: 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...

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!

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

A tale of two bears

Wildlife correspondent Aishu Sudarshan provides an update on the two bears rescued from Chitradurga zoo...

It has been several months since the brothers from Chitradurga set foot in the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre and every day since that November afternoon things have been looking up.  The minute the brothers entered the centre, they were given large dens with a water trough and fruits to make them comfortable after the journey.  They were christened Angelo and David.

Angelo and David explore outside

Angelo was the elder brother who unfortunately tested positive for TB. David on the other hand tested negative but was extremely underweight. When the team at the centre saw the brothers they let out a gasp at how full grown bears could weigh so little.

Angelo was immediately put on medication because the TB was in the initial stages and so we took more precautions. David was put on a highly nutritious diet that included various growth supplements and vitamins.

Angelo

In the past 5 months we have seen them improve both mentally and physically. Angelo’s coat has started looking fuller because of the diet and medication. He developed an appetite and didn’t complain when we added the medicines to his porridge. He kept to himself and used to become extremely tense when an unfamiliar person came to see him.

Today, Angelo is more or less the same bear but he has become much healthier and finishes all his meals.  His coat has improved, his medication is working and he has fallen head over heels in love with watermelons. There are a few things that we hope get better with time, for one his fear of humans. If Angelo senses a new person near his den, he tries to hide in a corner and won’t eat or move until that person leaves.  It is his miserable past that has led to these circumstances but we are hoping it’s just bright and beautiful from here on.

David

David is called the little one because he would eat very little and was extremely small for his age. David was just skin and bones when he entered our centre. He refused to eat anything on the first day and didn’t eat any fruits till 2 weeks later.

Now, he is still a much slower eater than his brother but his appetite has improved and so has his coat - and he loves pineapples! The most noticeable improvement is his personality. David came to us as a worn out bear that wouldn’t even move in his den. Today, he digs pits, destroys the enrichment and shreds coconuts in milliseconds.  He even snarls back at the other bears!

David enjoys coconuts

A few weeks back the keepers created a little area for Angelo to make him comfortable with the outside and help him start using the enrichment. It took him a while to come out of his den and take a few steps. He was extremely wary of his surroundings. But when he did gather the confidence there was no stopping him. He sniffed the entire place, tried his hand at the enrichment and even ran towards the keeper.

David on the other hand took to the outside like a pro when he was introduced to it a few months back and went straight to the fruit barrel looking for pineapples. We are extremely happy the brothers have come on so well and now feel sufficiently at home in the rescue centre to reveal their very different personalities.


Read the full story of the bears' rescue on our website.