Rescued moon bears get to live a decent life 　　 　　PLAY TIME : Bears get a chance to be themselves
　　On February 8, 2006, a piece of sad news came out of the Moon Bear Rescue Center in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Andrew, the first moon bear rescued by the Animals Asia Foundation, which sponsors the center, died of liver cancer, thought to have arisen from the massive infection caused by bile extraction.
　　The Moon Bear Rescue Center lies in Longqiao Town, about a 50-minute drive northwest of Chengdu. It was established in December 2000 by Jill Robinson, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Animals Asia Foundation. In July of that year, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the Sichuan Provincial Forestry Department and the foundation signed an agreement on moon bear rescue. According to the agreement, the Animals Asia Foundation will compensate farms that release their bears. The provincial government of Sichuan will transfer the licenses of closed bear farms to the AAF and, in light of state regulations, no more such licenses will be issued. This agreement inaugurated a nationwide campaign to rescue moon bears.
　　“Our aim is to rescue 500 moon bears in five years in Sichuan and promote the campaign across China,” said Robinson. “In 10 years we hope to ultimately eliminate bear farming.”
　　The three parties also reached consensus on supporting the research and production of the substitutes for bear bile and encouraging customers to refuse products made of bear bile.
　　The Moon Bear Rescue Center covers around 13 hectares of land and there are 162 bears currently in residence. Plans are underway to expand the area to accommodate more bears.
　　A bear hospital occupies a large part of the center. “Every bear will be given a health check on arrival at the center before being moved into a roomier cage to await surgery,” said Zhu Ke, an official of the center.
　　
　　NAP IN THE SUN: Moon bears rest on facilities designed by ethologists
　　According to him, new bears will receive extensive observation in their first days in the center as they regain their strength and gradually adjust to a more spacious environment. Those in most urgent need will undergo surgery to remove metal catheters and repair or remove damaged organs, including their gall bladders. After surgery, they will spend a period of time in quarantine, as some of them have infections, before being moved into rehabilitation wards.
　　Bears usually spend three months in rehabilitation wards relearning to walk, climb and socialize and being fattened up, Zhu said.
　　Bear dens provide comfortable individual homes, while the bamboo forests turn into large playgrounds for recovered bears to come and go freely. Each zone caters for bears in different stages of recovery.
　　The center also houses some three-legged male bears. Zhu explained that many people believe that the bear’s left front paw is the most delicious and nutritive part of its body, so it is often cut off and sold to restaurants or pharmaceutical factories at a high price. Andrew had also lost his left front paw for this reason.
　　Bears in the center suffer various states of deformity, such as the loss of claws, teeth or other body parts. The saddest sight is a female bear that has mental problems, which according to Zhu, resulted from the trauma of her bile extraction experiences. She walked in an endless circle shaking her head over and over again. The ground under her feet had been rubbed smooth.
　　Zhu said some of the bears are dangerous, but most are well on their way to recovery and play, enjoying their freedom.
　　Wang Shanhai, Bear Team Supervisor, said that the center forbids staff and visitors to directly give food to the bears because this can harm the bears’ health and natural abilities.
　　“Instead of feeding the bears directly, we always teach them to forage for food in different places, such as trees and other specially designed facilities. This is helpful for them to regain their strength and wild nature,” Wang said. According to him, all the training methods and facilities for the moon bears in the center were designed by ethologists.
　　On the east of the center, there is a cemetery. Each of the graves has a small stone tablet with the deceased bear’s details. Andrew’s grave is the largest among others, adorned by a tombstone bearing his name, age and the date he died. “Andrew was always very gentle and friendly to people,” Zhu said.
　　An educational center is under construction in the center. Once the establishment is completed, Zhu said, it will be opened to the public and teach visitors about animal welfare and conservation, essential for raising public awareness of rescuing and protecting moon bears.
　　“Education is key to the success of the moon bear rescue project,” Zhu said. “I believe you will see more people appreciating moon bears and hear more people talking about moon bears when you visit Chengdu and the center again some day.”

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