Vietnam: Sun Bear Rescued from Hotel Captivity
September 16, 2011 – 3:45 pm
Hotel surrenders “back yard” bear – Safe rescue for “Sonny”
On Tuesday 6 September, Animals Asia Vietnam Director, Tuan, External Affairs Officer, Dr The and Bear Worker Tuan from the Vietnam Moon Bear Rescue Centre travelled to the central highlands of Vietnam to rescue a lone sun bear.
This young male had been kept by a hotel/resort complex in Pleiku City in Gia Lai Province, for the past six to eight years. The hotel owners received the bear when he was just a cub and believe he may originally have been smuggled from Cambodia.
The hotel decided to give up the bear – now nicknamed “Sonny” – because they felt they could no longer look after him as they had been and they were not prepared to improve his living conditions. Sonny was being kept in a barren, rusting cage placed on a heap of rough ground with little shelter from the elements.
Quite a calm bear, Sonny appeared to be in good health at the time of rescue.
Full story from AnimalsAsia
