International Animal Rescue - Image gallery

Bear rescue and rehabilitation

Kissing bears: after a life of misery and pain, these two gentle bears have finally found friendship and contentment in the Agra sanctuary.

$Dancing bear: this bear is a picture of pain and suffering as he is forced to perform among the traffic on India\'s busy streets.$

Three bears: these young bears were rescued from poachers when they were tiny cubs. They display the health and happiness enjoyed by all the rescued bears in our sanctuaries.

Rescued bear cub: this tiny cub was rescued from poachers by an undercover team from our partners Wildlife SOS. It had been snatched from its mother who was probably killed while trying to protect it.

Bathing bears: healthy bears are playful bears like these, enjoying environmental enrichment at our sanctuaries and pools of water where they can frolic and cool off from the heat of the sun.

Dental team at work: like many of the rescued bears, this bear was suffering from terrible abscesses and infection where his teeth had been knocked out, requiring treatment from our expert dental team.

Down and out on the streets: this poor bear was weak with hunger and broken by beatings when we found him among the dirt and dust of the busy streets outside Agra.

Blind bear: some of the rescued bears are partially sighted or blind like this one. This is the result of severe malnutrition or has even been caused by brutal blows to the head.

Dancing bear: when his captor tugs on the rope threaded through the open wound in his muzzle, the bear has no choice but to stand on his hind legs to escape from the pain.

Captive bear cub: cubs of only a few months old like this one have their noses pierced with a red hot needle so that a coarse rope can be threaded through the wound and out through the top of their snouts

Rescued bear cub: some poached cubs like this one are lucky enough to be rescued before they have had their noses pierced or their teeth knocked out.

New arrival: this rescued cub is on its way to a better life after being rescued by a team from Wildlife SOS and brought to the Agra sanctuary.

Baby bears: these tiny cubs required round the clock care after being rescued from poachers by a team from Wildlife SOS and brought to the Agra sanctuary.

Up close and personal: IAR patron Bill Bailey meets a rescued bear in the Agra sanctuary and sees for himself how gentle and forgiving they can be in spite of all they have suffered.

$Patiently waiting to be set free: dancing bears like this one spend their lives held captive on the end of a rope in the dust and dirt of India\'s streets. This is Chitra, the 500th bear we rescued in December 2008.$

The milk of human kindness: some of the rescued cubs are so young that at first they have to be handreared by members of the Wildlife SOS team, led by Geeta Seshamani, co-founder of Wildlife SOS.

$Life\'s a picnic: the bears in our sanctuaries enjoy a variety of environmental enrichment, including comfy hammocks to snooze in when the mood takes them.$

The human touch: Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, and one of the rescued bears.

Bear surrender: to benefit from the rehabilitation scheme, when a Kalandar gives up his bear he has to sign an official agreement with Wildlife SOS in the presence of a Forestry Department official.

Beautiful rescued bear: enjoying the freedom to live life as nature intended.

Bannerghatta bear cubs: in need of endless toys and tools to stimulate and amuse them.