Victory! Last Known ‘Dancing Bears’ Rescued From Nepal

Victory for animals! Recently, the Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal, World Animal Protection, and the Nepali police rescued the last two known “dancing” bears in Nepal!

The two bears include 19-year old male Rangila and17-year-old female Sridevi, who were both rescued in a dramatic overnight raid. Rescuers successfully tracked their owner’s phones and were able to save the bears who had endured a decade of being forced to “dance” for large crowds of people – a both cruel and illegal practice.

“We are thrilled that the last two known Nepali dancing bears have been rescued from their lifetime of suffering. After a year of tracking them, using our own intelligence and in cooperation with local police, our hard effort and dedication has helped to bring an end to this illegal tradition in Nepal,” said Manoj Gautam of Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal in a press release.

There are only around 20,000 sloth bears currently documented in the wild. Most often sloth bears were poached from the wild at a young age and sold into the dancing bear trade, as Rangila and Sridevi were. From there they would be purchased by a “trainer” who would teach them to dance for a profit. To do so, bears were “conditioned,” a process that involved removing the bear’s canine teeth without anesthesia. Bears were also subjected to having their snout pierced with a hot metal rod. A rope would then be inserted into the piercing as a way to control the bear while it danced.

World Animal Protection reports that the two were heartbreakingly found in a distressed state, showing signs of psychological trauma, such as cowering, pacing and paw sucking. The two bears have immediately been taken to the Amlekhgunj Forest and Wildlife Reserve for treatment and rehabilitation.

After being exploited for human entertainment for so many years, we hope that with time Rangila and Sridevi can forget about their traumatic pasts and enjoy their remaining years as free bears!

To learn more about World Animal Protection, click here.

To learn more about the Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal, click here.

Image Source: JudaM/Pixabay