Diary - Dancing Bear Rescue
Polly spent the beginning of her life as a dancing bear. She spent her days enduring a miserable existence, her life completely void of any love or care.
Instead, physical and mental abuse plagued her every waking moment.
After her cruel captors shoved a red-hot poker through her nose, a harsh rope was pushed through the holes and then tied. Every single time the rope was tugged, Polly would stand on her hind-legs and shake around in pain.
Tourists would laugh at the dancing bear in front of them, completely unaware of the physical and...
Amal the bear was rescued at the age of 12. He had been held captive as a dancing bear, a hot poker had been shoved through his nose when he was only a cub, leaving a gaping wound to fester for 12 long and painful years.
The list of health problems Amal was suffering from upon arrival seemed endless. He had severe malnutrition, dry skin, and teeth that were smashed to smithereens, to name a few. Our veterinary team knew that they would have to come up with a miracle to bring this bear back from the brink of death. But they did not give up and this...
Ratna spent the first three years of her life as a dancing bear. Her first experience of this world was one of pain, suffering and stress.
Could you imagine what it would be like to have a hot poker shoved through your nose? Just so that a rope could be pulled through it and then used to torture you for the entertainment of others? This is what this beautiful bear, and many others like her, had to endure on a daily basis before being rescued by our team.
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Victoria is a beautiful bear enjoying life at the sanctuary in Agra, India. Behind those big brown eyes is a past full of unimaginable pain and suffering which she experienced as a victim of the dancing bear trade.
In 2013, our partners Wildlife SOS found her in a terrible condition. Her majestic coat of fur had become overgrown, filthy and infested with parasites. On top of this, she was also suffering from a painful, untreated wound on her muzzle, caused by a rope being forced through it by her heartless captors.
This poor bear had also...
Back in 2007, a rescue team sent out by our partners Wildlife SOS, rescued a bear later named Kasthuri from a Kalandar settlement in West Bengal. At only six months old, the only life she knew was filled with an incredible amount of pain and misery.
As part of her indoctrination as a dancing bear, she would have had a huge, red hot, iron poker forcibily shoved through her muzzle. A rope would have then been fed through the fresh wound, ensuring that the wound would never heal and giving her captors complete control over her. Every time the rope was...
Giri was 3 months old when he was rescued. He was found tied up, underweight and weak, curled up alongside another young bear. He was suffering from a horrible infection in his nose, and required urgent medical care to stop his condition worsening. The rescue took place as a part of an anti-poaching operation carried out by our partners, Wildlife SOS.
Giri, and the other bear, were rushed to the Agra Bear Rescue facility. This facility is equipped with specialist equipment and rehabilitative facilities to provide the bears with the urgent care that...
We rescued Truffles with our partners Wildlife SOS when he was just a little over a year old. He and three other young sloth bears were rescued from a group of poachers based in Jharkhand. All four of the bears were sold into a life of misery as dancing bears across the Indo-Nepal border, where this cruel practice is still on-going.
When we first rescued Truffles back in 2013, we were greeted with the shocking site of a scrawny, weak bear with matted fur and a look of sadness in his eyes. His muzzle had been pierced, leaving an open, gaping wound...
This is Balu – he is one of the most laid back bears at the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre.
He was rescued when he was just seven years old. At first he was understandably frightened and traumatised, but unlike most bears, he adapted to his new life of freedom from the very moment he arrived at the centre. And he hasn’t looked back since.
Balu is sometimes called ‘The Digger’ as he is very fond of digging, sometimes for termites or ants but often just for fun. He can spend hours digging but also loves to run around. The other bears enjoy...
Today we are reflecting on the amazing recovery Goldie has made since he was rescued back in 2013. Goldie was poached from the wild when he was just a cub and was forced to dance on the streets.
Upon rescue, Goldie was alone and in agony - he was weak with hunger and crippled with pain.
When he entered the sanctuary gates he seemed to have a broken...
It’s been thirteen years since Chotu first arrived at our Agra Bear Rescue Facility after being rescued from a Kalandar community, where he was made to perform and entertain the masses. The cruelty and sheer negligence on the part of his owner was clearly evident, who was simply exploiting him to earn a living.
Rehabilitation of rescued animals is always a challenge as having led a majority of their lives on captivity; they have never been given the chance to experience and exhibit their natural behavior. With time, we were able to get Chotu to...