Weighing just 2 pounds and at only a couple weeks of age, a pair of Asiatic black bear cubs were just seized from traffickers in Vietnam.
When they emerged from their carrier and opened their eyes, they were surrounded by people who truly cared about them.
It’s a still a mystery where exactly the cubs came from. Rescuers believe that they were probably imported from Laos or came from a bear bile farm in Vietnam.
They fell into the hands of the illegal wildlife trade, one of the largest criminal networks on the planet; it’s astounding that they managed to get out.
The one certainty was that the cubs should have been with their mother. Without her, they needed expert care — and fast.
Animal rescuers teamed up to get the tiny female bears to a place that could help them. People from Four Paws International, Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) and Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) all pitched in, and soon the tiny sisters arrived for treatment at Four Paws-run Bear Sanctuary Ninh Binh.
“The bears are still very young,” Emily Lloyd, Four Paws Vietnam animal manager, said in a press release provided to The Dodo. “The bear cubs were dehydrated when they were brought to us so our team of veterinarians is currently providing them with milk, added with vitamins and probiotics.”
When they aren’t bottle-feeding, the siblings are curled up together in a little crib at the sanctuary where rescuers can keep an eye on them.
The cubs are still very vulnerable, but, much to everyone’s relief, there are some really good signs of strength in them.
“Although the bears only weigh approximately 2 pounds, both are quite strong and drink enough of the milk,” Lloyd said.
Without their mother to bring them up and teach them how to survive in the wild, the cubs will have to grow up at the sanctuary and make their home there.
Luckily, the sanctuary has plenty of room for them, complete with acres of wild forests and fields where they can roam once they’re old enough.
For now, though, the little sisters only have to focus on sleeping and nursing from the bottle so they can become strong and healthy bears.
“These rescued bears are provided with some of the best medical treatment and care regimens at the hands of wild animal experts,” Robert Ware, executive director of Four Paws USA, said. “Our team is trained to help bears rehabilitate from the direst of situations to now thriving peacefully, and full of life.”