Two sloth bear brothers lived for several years in a small dark room. Thousands of pairs of eyes stared at them for years at a zoo about 300 kilometers from Bangalore.
Their home was a damp concrete floor, cracked from years of use. They were shy bears that normally lived in forests with caves but their feet were raw and sore from walking on concrete for years. They had not seen sunlight in ages.
The plight of the bears and the fact that they needed urgent medical and veterinary care was brought to the notice of the Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka and on 16th November, he permitted the shifting of the bears for treatment and medical care to the Bear Rescue Center.
Dr. Arun, our senior vet at BBRC and his team, travelled 600 kilometers that night to shift the bears safely. The bears were anesthetized and after a medical examination, Dr Arun found that they were fit to travel. The bears were gently shifted to transport cages and then onto a truck, that had accompanied the WSOS team for the purpose. The two Bears were by now fast asleep in their transport cages on their way to the Bear Rescue Center.
A large contingent including IAR and FTB teams were waiting alongside the WSOS team with bated breath for the bears to arrive at the rescue center, making sure everything was ready for them. Their enclosures were cleaned and a nutritious meal awaited the new arrivals. Dr Arun aged the older bear to be about 10 to 12 years old and the smaller one to be a year or two younger.
Over the next few days, both bears underwent a thorough and complete set of medical examinations and blood tests to diagnose their health status to help the team to plan the treatment and nourishment that they would need. They were also examined for respiratory problems and vision disabilities.
The bears are now slowly recuperating. We often see them spending their entire day looking up at the sky and soaking up the sun and we completely understand why!!
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