Two black Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are safe on the mainland after a remote island rescue on May 5 from captivity on Ba Mun Island, in Bai Tu Long Bay in Quang Ninh province.
The two bears were kept on Ba Mun island.
The rescue was carried out by Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) and was the first rescue at sea by the organisation. The rescue also opens up the transfer of the entire 38 caged bears in Quang Ninh to Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc province under the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.
Animals Asia’s Vietnam Director Dr. Tuan Bendixsen said that AAF has rescued 124 bears across the country, but the Ba Mun rescue was probably the most challenging due to the remote location, potential dangers of travelling at sea and the poor health of the bears.
The two bears, a male and a female, were named Sam and Simon. Both were quite weak, particularly the male, Simon. He suffered from paralysis due to seriously restricted movement and had an open wound on his back.
According to the Quang Ninh Forest Protection officials, the two bears were transferred to Ba Mun about four years ago, after being confiscated from an illegal trade. The Ba Mun Wildlife Rescue Centre intended to set up semi-wild model for the two bears before releasing them in the wild but the plan was not realised due to a lack of funding.
As planned, the two bears arrived from Tam Dao on Wednesday afternoon. This is the first step in the Quang Ninh bear protection campaign to complete the rescue of the remaining 36 captive bears in the locality by the end of June, making the province bear bile free and moving towards a complete cessation of bear bile farming in Vietnam.
The rescue at sea has been described the most challenging AAF has ever performed, marking the start of bear rescue operations from Quang Ninh province.