Sections In Bear residents Jasper Moon Bear Jasper in his "crush cage" before being rescued by Jill Robinson and the Animals Asia Foundation. Like thousands of endangered moon bears across China, Jasper spent his life crushed in a tiny cage, unable to move, and never seeing the light of day. 15 tortured years of relentless pain and frustrated biting on the bars that were denying him his freedom, left him with appalling suppurating wounds, hair loss and drastically worn teeth and claws. Jasper was one of the very first bears rescued by Animals Asia Foundation Founder, Jill Robinson, when she originally uncovered this barbaric trade. His were some of the first eyes staring pleadingly back at her from his cage. Despite years of horrific physical and mental abuse, following extensive abdominal surgery and round the clock intensive care at AAF's Chengdu Sanctuary, Jasper began his slow recovery. It wasn't long before he showed his true sweet and forgiving nature. After years of agony, Jasper's affection for bears and people alike humbles us all. Today, Jasper is one of the friendliest bears at Chengdu – spending his days tumbling around in the sunshine in his huge natural forest enclosure with his friends, before collapsing into his cosy hanging basket, happy and contented Jasper the Moon Bear as he is today a truly magestic bear. Jill feeding Jasper his favourite treat of peanut butter. The bars look awful but they are necessary for no matter how cuddly these bears appear to be, they have very formidable claws and can move very fast so there have to be safety protocols in place. Jill Robinson with internationally acclaimed wildlife artist David Shepherd. A beautiful limited-edition print of Jasper with a print run of only 1000. David Neale UK Director of Animals Asia in the Animals Asia "Jasper" van, meets Steve Ashcroft from moonbears.co.uk March 2007 Some much-needed Jasper therapy Friday, April 4, 2008, 04:06 AM (Taken from Jill's blog Animals Asia Foundation http://www.animalsasia.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080404-040657 It was time to take a break from three days of endless health checks, post mortems and funerals and it was time to keep a long-awaited appointment with the bear I knew would give me some relief. Jasper didn’t let me down. As I stood on the observation deck (with Tamara and Juanita from our Hong Kong office), overlooking his den, Jasper looked up to make sure he was being admired and casually, but purposefully, strolled over to Beau (on the right) who was sleeping peacefully by the pool and, without any hesitation .... bit her bottom! Jasper has never been anything but playful – the peacemaker of the whole sanctuary – but this time he’d gone a little too far. Rudely awakened from her dreams, Beau spun around in rage, snarling at the animal that had snatched away her peaceful slumber. And Jasper looked up at us with the most wonderful surprised look on his face, as if to say “What did I do?!” If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was laughing.....as were we. ************************************************************ Jasper demonstrating the best way to disembark from a hammock…. www.animalsasia.org Agathon Agathon arrived in this pitiful state in October 2006. Agathon today, plays for hours with best friend Metty. NEW MITTS A HIT WITH AGATHON! Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 11:07 PM (Taken from Jill's Blog, www.animalsasia.org) With the big chill continuing at the China sanctuary, our bears are now keeping snug and warm in surgery thanks to all you kind people who have knitted and sewn such lovely mittens for them. Here is a photo of our big boy Agathon sporting a set of powder-blue mittens, made by US supporter Dorothy Frew. Agathon passed his health check with flying colours, and soon returned toasty-toed to his den and friends! Also keeping warm in their own mittens are our vet nurses, Hayley (left) and Wendy. www.animalsasia.org Banjo www.animalsasia.org Banjo reminds everyone in the team of a naughty teenager! This young bear has a real passion for life and loves nothing better than romping around with the other bears who share his den. His release into the natural enclosure marked a significant step in his recovery and today, years later, he still hugs the other bears and begs them to play! Banjo arrived as a tragic victim of the new, so-called humane "free-dripping" method. Although he had no catheter implant, he had suffered crude surgery to create a permanent hole in his abdomen, from which bile was drained. Whilst other bears have tragically died from this method, Banjo pulled through and amazed everyone with his will to survive and his joyous love of everything around. Penguin-like in his stance, Banjo rises up on chubby back legs and swaggers up to Jasper or Aussie in a hilarious pose, before launching himself on bears twice his size! Despite their look of superior disdain, they can't refuse this funny, affectionate bear and before too long, the den resembles a children's playground! www.animalsasia.org Beau Beau can be sponsered throught The David Shepherd Wildlife Trust: Jasper (left) wakes Beau by creeping up and biting her bottom, understandably she is not very pleased. Visit Jill's blog Animals Asia Foundation http://www.animalsasia.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080404-040657 www.davidshepherd.org www.animalsasia.org Bottom www.animalsasia.org For all of you who smile at showing family and friends pictures of your "bear bottom", it's nice to know that behind the humour is an animal who is at last enjoying her freedom after years of pain and confinement on a bear farm in China. On the day she arrived at our rescue centre, the team noticed with horror that she had a crude metal catheter protruding from her abdomen, which had caused massive inflammation and irritation to her body. Such was the pain from this tortuous implant, that before we could perform the surgery to help her, Bottom had pulled the catheter out of her own body. Remarkably, she recovered and quickly began to flourish as she was fed with tasty, nourishing food, and given gentle physiotherapy to restore muscles depleted from years of inactivity in the cage which had crushed her body. Today, Bottom has emerged as a stunningly beautiful bear with a personality which is both fun- loving and mischievous! When the den gates open, it is always Bottom heading the group and scuttling excitedly over to the hanging vertical log, which has been drilled with holes and stuffed with tempting little pieces of cake or fruit. A perfect example of offering enrichment and physiotherapy - and thanks to you, a perfect example of a happy and contented bear. www.animalsasia.org Caesar February 2009 Caesar explores her new den......... ************************************************************ Winter is here Sunday, December 14, 2008, 11:17 PM You know winter has arrived in Chengdu when Caesar starts to dig – and yesterday she dug for China. Bear Manager Donata radioed everyone on the walkie-talkie to come over and watch as our formidable and very beautiful brown bear chose what she obviously thought was a suitable spot by the fence-line and set to work. This wasn't how we saw it at all. My heart was in my mouth as she dug lower and lower into the ground, pausing every few minutes to back out of her home-made den in order to level the earth mountain growing outside. I knew it should be OK really – remembering that when the enclosures were designed by Boris, our China Construction Development Director, the cement had gone a metre underground just to be "safe" – but my goodness Caesar was definitely testing it now. As she dug, I couldn't help remembering her life on the bear farm and the contrast to what it is four years on. She and her bear farm "room mate" Emma (a boy with a girl's name) had been cruelly shackled in a "full-metal jacket", in a cage, on the farm in Tianjin, northern China – for nine long years. I knew it should be OK really – remembering that when the enclosures were designed by Boris, our China Construction Development Director, the cement had gone a metre underground just to be "safe" – but my goodness Caesar was definitely testing it now. As she dug, I couldn't help remembering her life on the bear farm and the contrast to what it is four years on. She and her bear farm "room mate" Emma (a boy with a girl's name) had been cruelly shackled in a "full-metal jacket", in a cage, on the farm in Tianjin, northern China – for nine long years. The day of their rescue was bitterly cold – freezing rain driving down as our team cut the bars of the cages apart with blow torches as Caesar and Emma lay sleeping under anaesthetic. Then a quick health-check before being loaded into robust transport cages for a three-day road-trip – over land, over mountains, over night. It was one of the most incredible journeys of my life with Boris and Howard (our Bear Team Supervisor) – both still with us today – leading the whole operation professionally and effortlessly. The scenery as we drove from town to town and village to village was breathtaking – beautiful forests, snow-capped mountains and babbling rivers along the way - we even passed a cat on a hot tin roof! The Chinese media followed throughout and as we drove into each town the villagers would pour out of their houses to see the spectacle of two huge bears rolling their way "home". It's clear that this is all long forgotten by Caesar, who was definitely on a mission today. In a few weeks, she will be moved into our new construction – "Caesar's bunker" – where she can dig dens to her heart's desire and stay outside for as long as she likes. For now, she'll have to be content snuggling up at night in her hanging-basket bed. The team that looks after Caesar couldn't resist taking a closer look at her handiwork. Here's Li Ping, Zeng Zhi Pong, Zhang Jinguo, Tao Hongliang, Ou Jun, and Bear Manager Donata Baars checking out the hole. So for now, our team will fill in the rather impressive hole, acknowledging that, in her normal and very determined style, she'll be back digging for China again tomorrow. ************************************************************ Early 2004 a Shanghai journalist exposed an unlicensed farm in Tianjin where two miserable bears were suffering from an archaic and illegal "full metal jacket" form of bile extraction. Following an invitation from the Government, a first inspection of the farm left Jill Robinson reeling in shock at the sight of two huge, caged and angry bears, wearing painful vests made of canvas and steel. Worn permanently, the vests were protecting a long rubber catheter leading from the bears' gall bladder to a metal box, where a fluid bag collected their bile. Whilst Moon Bears can be astonishingly aggressive, they cannot possibly compare with the rage of a 250kg Brown Bear and Black/Brown Bear hybrid, who were now too violent to "milk". As they angrily slashed their huge paws at the rusty cage bars, she realised she had quite a job on her hands. Endless meetings followed, ironing out logistics with Government officials who were keen to close this last farm and declare Tianjin a "bear farm free zone". The task ahead was daunting - transporting two massive bears thousands of kilometres by road - but finally an agreement was reached, and we were on our way to collect our two new family members. Boris and his workers were faultless in their preparation for the arduous journey home - constructing large, "bear proof" transport cages firmly secured inside a specially customised truck. On a cold, wet, windy Saturday in Febuary, in sub-zero conditions, the team gathered in the middle of the countryside in Tianjin, at the bear farm, where our Veterinary team immediately began to deal expertly with a frightening and potentially dangerous situation. As Gail stood there with her "jab stick", I was sick with nerves that a sharp injection of anaesthetic into the muscle would see the bears bouncing through the rusty cage floor with rage. But incredibly, both bears remained magically calm, as if they understood that their new lives had now begun.       As the first bear slipped into a deep sleep, Boris and his team skillfully used blow torches to cut away the thick metal bars, just inches away from the fully conscious bear in the next cage. Placed in the cage as a 1 year old cub, this now enormous 10 year old bear was 4 sizes too big to be pulled out through the cage door. After a nail-biting 45 minutes, in impossibly cramped conditions, a large enough hole was cut and the bear finally dragged free. As health checks began, shocked officials and Chinese media gasped in horror as Gail unlocked the bears' disgusting metal vests to reveal the dirty latex catheters and fluid bags which had collected the bile from their gall bladders over the past 9 years. The following day we set off on the long journey home, tailing the truck containing the two bears and Howard - their special escort. We drove for 3 days and nights, carefully negotiating snowy mountain passes and stopping every few hours to feed our new charges. Over those long days and nights, Howard was a bears best friend - with "OK" and "Hau cher" all the words I needed to hear, as it meant that the bears were content and enjoying their food. Finally, tired, bedraggled, but very, very proud, we arrived at the Sanctuary at last, to be greeted by a barrage of Government officials and Chinese press who had followed the story of the rescue since it began. That evening, news of the arrival of the now famous Tianjin bears hit television screens all over the country and the following day newspapers nationwide carried the story! Postscript July 2004 Both Emma and Caesar are now fully recovered, having received major surgery and masses of tender loving care and are safe and sound with our resident 114 happy, healthy bears in the Sanctuary. One person equally horrified by their condition was Asia's top pop diva and actress, Karen Mok - now our first China Bear Rescue Ambassador. At the Sanctuary she announced to China's media that after hearing of the bears plight she had received "a calling" and knew she must help. Standing next to Government officials she stated her belief that bear farming should end and called on the people of China to join her towards a more compassionate era for animals in the country. With our Chinese language Education packs now completed, we are commencing mass circulation of these to literally thousands of people across China - in particular to Traditional Chinese Medicine University Doctors and students who are now signing on in droves to our escalating campaign: "Rescue Black Bears - Give up Bear Bile Usage"! A health check for Caesar today Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 03:17 PM Report taken from Jill's blog Animals Asia official site "You don’t mess around with a gigantic brown bear like Caesar when she’s due a routine health check. I remember only too well her rescue some four years ago when she bounced violently in her rusting cage on the bear farm in Tianjin and I thought she would crash through. Wearing a grotesque, painful full-metal jacket, which secured a metal box and crude latex catheter that snaked itself into her gall bladder, Caesar was understandably a very unhappy bear. Back safely with us and loving her enclosure and pool, Caesar’s scars have all but disappeared and today she is an astonishingly beautiful (and formidable) bear. The examination is essential owing to the high incidence of liver cancer we’re finding in previously “tapped” bears on the farms, and Caesar, like all the other bears on site, gets a quick once-over every two or three years. Weighing in at a humongous 271kgs, Caesar is all muscle and all woman! Finally, a quick team picture and a group sigh of relief that all went well. Within a few hours Caesar was resting comfortably back in her den after removal of one tiny rotten incisor, a full ultrasound and routine procedures. And she’s in robustly good health. Job well done vet and bear team" www.animalsasia.org Chrystal www.animalsasia.org Crystal is an absolutely beautiful bear. She has ebony black fur, which is thick and shaggy, and a wide lemon moon-shaped crescent on her chest. She arrived at the rescue centre hardly able to move in the tiniest of wire crush cages - and with an old style catheter, suggesting she had been in this shocking cage for over 15 years. The latex catheter tube led from her gall bladder, threaded underneath her skin and exited at the thigh, where it was knotted to stop leakage, and then untied whenever the farmer wanted to “milk” her bile. She had also been painfully de-clawed, to take away her defenses and make her easier to milk. After all she had endured, this sad little bear made remarkable progress and came through her corrective surgery and physiotherapy in just a few weeks. Incredibly, for a bear who had spent so many years in pain and unable to move, her personality was gentle from the outset and she won a special place in the hearts of the team. Today, Crystal adores the security of her cozy hanging basket bed and can often be found snuggling in with Heather, another female, like children at bedtime. She also loves to forage under the sun in the natural enclosure and can often be seen lying in the grass and gazing into the distance. www.animalsasia.org Franzi Franzi imprisioned in a tiny rusty cage for over 20 years Stunted little “Franzi” on arrival in December 2002 Franzi's tiny cage! Franzi as she is today Franzi will never be able to stand as her back was crippled by human cruelty, her body horribly stunted after she was boxed into a tiny and cramped living coffin on a bile farm in China. But the relief of freedom saw her grappling on to a branch for support and hauling her diminutive frame tall in a "secret garden" den she shares with Rupert the Bear. Franzi cuddles up to Rupert A delightful smile and her twinkling eyes tell the world she is glad to be alive. Until recently, Franzi was one of about 7,000 Asiatic black bears, also known as Moon Bears, locked up in appalling conditions on a Chinese bile farm. Aged about 25, she was robbed of her youth after being captured as a cub in the wild. Franzi waiting for a 'treat' from Jill www.animalsasia.org Freedom www.animalsasia.org Freedom is a beautiful cub with one of the saddest bear farming stories to tell. No-one in the team will ever forget her arrival as she stared out of the cage with wide, frightened eyes and put one, then two, severed front limbs through the bars as if imploring us to help her. Both Freedom's front limbs had been cruelly trapped; she had been wrenched from her mother and denied her life in the wild before being caged and prepared for life on a farm. Small wonder that she hated and feared the presence of people. Days turned into weeks, and then months, as the team persevered and gently encouraged this poor bear to start trusting the very same species, which had caused her so much pain and suffering. Today, Freedom is a humbling example of how forgiving these animals can be. Gently integrated into a den with other disabled bears, she is beginning to enjoy her life as never before. No longer fearful when we approach, she hops to the front of the den and quietly hums "feed me" sounds before dipping her long, pink tongue into a jar of honey. Each morning sees this happy little bear waking to a day of fun with her friends and confident at last in the knowledge that nothing will hurt her ever again. www.animalsasia.org Rupert www.animalsasia.org Rupert arrived in October 2000 and we knew straight away that we had a “special care bear” on our hands. With slow, clumsy reactions and a strangely lopsided face, this sweet and gentle bear was classed as suffering a “central brain lesion”, most likely caused by the “free-drip” hole in his abdomen where bacteria entered and infected his brain. Franzi cuddles up to Rupert Although in no pain and a deeply contented bear, Rupert’s condition is a poignant reminder of why the “modern” method of bile extraction is every bit as cruel and damaging as the old. Today, our real life “bear of little brain” touches everyones hearts, blissfully enjoying his Secret Garden for special care bears, and loving every second of his new life. www.animalsasia.org Somerset www.animalsasia.org On arrival at our hospital, this miserable, frightened little cub lurched between nervous pacing in his cage, violent outbursts of rage, or pitiful vocalizations, which broke our hearts. None of us were surprised by his obvious fear and hatred of people. In the wild, Moon Bear cubs stay with their mothers for up to three years; learning to forage, to defend themselves and to survive. Tragically, Somerset's wild existence with his family had been brutally taken away by a leghold trap, which had severed one of his front legs and crippled him for life. Luckily for Somerset, the Chinese Government stepped in and confiscated him before he reached his destination on a bile factory farm. He was then given to Animals Asia to begin a new life. Recovery was slow, but gradually, his frightened eyes began to soften when we approached and he clearly adored his "Nursie's" fruitshakes, which were packed full of pureed strawberries, bananas, honey and healing antibiotics. Today, Somerset has been moved into a Den together with other "special care bears" including juveniles Prince and Bonnie and Freedom, our gorgeous sweet-faced bear who lost both of her limbs in a leghold trap. As he romps in play with new-found friends, our little "cublet" is finally assured a safe and happy life in China. See tree party article!! www.animalsasia.org Snoopy Snoopy's Christmas Kiss Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 01:01 AM It's hard to believe this is the same bear that arrived at our sanctuary in 2003, anxious and trapped in a tiny farm cage. This masterplan began by researching Snoopy’s favourite treats – acknowledging that attempts last December to woo her with peanut butter amounted to failure of a spectacular kind. This year, the research and debate raged for days before Bear Manager Pernille confidently assured me that the flavour of the month was strawberry jam. And so our cunning plan was hatched. The idea was to see beautiful, blind Snoopy walking out of her den, into the garden for special-care bears, over to the reinforced window that separates my room from her enclosure, before standing up and licking the jam-smeared glass, which had “Seasons Greetings” emblazoned on it. As Pernille and our "Secret Garden" bear team carefully laid a trail of Snoopy’s favourite biscuits, I got busy decorating the inside of the window and smearing the outside with tablespoons of jam. A few minutes later, several staff crowded around in my room, as Rainbow set up his video camera. A Christmas CD was popped into the player – and we were ready to begin. The den doors opened and we hardly dared to breathe as Snoopy sniffed the air and took in the smells around her as she always does. Horror of horrors – ignoring (and carefully stepping over) the trail of bear biscuits, she headed purposefully to the edge of her swimming pool and a breakfast starter of coconut milk and carrots. Our faces dropped. So this is why film directors tell you never to work with animals and children. For the next 30 minutes, Snoopy delighted in every little morsel of her garden breakfast buffet – except for the strawberry jam. Every now and then she would walk temptingly close to the window, only to veer away at the last second as her nose told her that a morsel even more tasty than jam was in another direction. As everyone was busy, we decided to come back later in the hope that Snoopy would finally find her Christmas treat. Almost an hour went by before we heard the excited sounds of our bear team – Tiger (Zhang Xiao Hu), Zhang Chengjin and Wang Li on the walkie-talkies telling us all to run back to my room, as Snoopy had now found her prize and had almost licked the window clean. This was the sight that greeted us – a truly magical moment showing how one blind bear survived farm torture and beat all the odds. It made us all smile to the moon. It is sent to you, with grateful thanks and big bear hugs, to friends, staff and volunteers across the world, who have given Snoopy and all of our bears a life of meaning and joy. And finally, some more good news to share. In March, ophthalmologist Claudia Hartley will be returning to Chengdu to work with Senior Vet Heather and team in helping some of our sightless bears to see. She has already said that Snoopy’s chances are good – and we are keeping everything crossed that next Christmas Snoopy will find her jammy prize on the window – not by smell, but by sight. www.animalsasia.org Benji and Poupouce Benji and Poupouce Feb 2009 Benji Benji Benji and Poupouce www.animalsasia.org