In the few short months since her arrival at the Van Vihar Bear Rescue Facility, Rose has come a long way from being a timid and scared sloth bear cub to becoming strong and independent, under the watchful eyes of our team of dedicated vets and staff. Her undeterred spirit and strong will has proved to be quite an inspiration for all of us here at Wildlife SOS.
After months of treating her mangled left fore-paw and observing her positive response to these treatments, a decision was made by our veterinarians to transfer her to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, where they could carry out the required orthopaedic surgery on her leg with the help of the advanced surgical equipment available at the centre.
The journey from Bhopal to Agra took a little over ten hours and was without any trauma or fuss, as she slept her way through the trip. Immediately introduced to her new enclosure where she could recover from the tiring journey, Rose was a little apprehensive at first. She warmed up to the new environment the moment some porridge laced with honey was presented to her. Having had her hearty fill of the delicious meal, she wandered about her enclosure sniffing and exploring parts of the new and hopefully interesting space.
The next day, senior veterinarians Dr. Arun A. Sha and Dr. Illayaraja conducted an X-ray of her severed left fore- paw to check the degree of healing. They then went on to conduct an intensive surgical procedure to trim off the exposed bone and suture the skin over it to avoid any cases of infection in the future.
After careful consideration, we have decided not to fit Rose with a prosthetic leg as she tends to tear off even the light bandages that are used on her wound dressing. Moreover, as in the case of all our other bears, we prefer to minimise human contact after the initial quarantine period is over, so they can have a life as close to the one they could have had in their natural habitat. We would prefer a similarly free life for Rose, unhindered by human interruptions which would take place for the maintenance and upkeep of a prosthetic by the veterinary staff and keepers. She continues to be under observation and is on antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications and multivitamin supplements.
Rose is presently going for short walks around her den and has regained her appetite. She will continue to remain in isolation for a month till she has fully recovered and walks with confidence and has settled in comfortably in her new home after which she will be introduced to the socializing pen where she will be able to interact with the other young bears.
You can become one of her sponsors and get periodic updates about her on-going care and treatment HERE
