As the mercury oscillates indecisively between hot, humid mornings, and cool rainy evenings, time seems to have slowed down at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility.
At the lush premises of the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, vivacity has another name – Ranjan. With his mischievous personality, one often finds it hard to believe that he is over twenty years of age, quite old in terms of bear years!
Ranjan was rescued from a Kalandar community in Ranchi, located in Central India. His lean frame and dull, rough coat were indicators of the hard life he’d lived, along with the severe stereotypical behaviour he displayed. His journey with us has been filled with continuous recuperation, healing and new discoveries.
Ranjan dislikes the monsoon season because the rain puts a dampener on his plans of playing outdoors. To keep our spirited bear engaged, Rajan’s care givers have placed some fun enrichments like honey logs and enrichment balls in his den. Enrichments at our rescue centres are designed according to the ages and abilities of the animals under lifelong care. For geriatric animals, whose physical needs differ from the younger inhabitants, enrichments are modified according to their age – hammocks are a preferred enrichment amongst the older bears under our care. However, Ranjan doesn’t seem to be considering ‘retirement’ any time soon.
During the evening time, after having a relaxed afternoon nap, Ranjan enjoys walking around his enclosure, getting thoroughly excited at the sight of his keeper bringing him his evening fruits! Ranjan is quick to devour his favourite watermelons, scraping it clean with his sharp, long claws within seconds. His evening fruit platter includes pomegranates, mangoes and bananas.
Ranjan loudly slurps and gobbles down his porridge while it’s still piping hot, licking it clean to the very last drop! With his hunger satiated, Ranjan proceeds forth for a nap on his single-levelled platform enrichment, occasionally stretching to get more comfortable. He shares his enclosure with Leena, a shy and reticent bear who is, in many ways, an antithesis to the happy-go-lucky Ranjan. However, the two get along exceptionally well and will often be spotted mock-wrestling each other to the ground or walking around their enclosure during late evening.
As we keep our animals happy and healthy during these uncertain times, we hope you and your family remain safe too!
