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WILDLIFE
BEAR
CARE
Helping bears is barely a small job. TEXT BY CLAIRE BOOBBYER PHOTOGRAPHS BY FREE THE BEARS
M
ost of us have little to do with bears. We love Winnie the Pooh, but what about the ursine creatures from the rugged mountains of Laos? Along the main footpath leading to Kouang Si waterfall, visitors are able to view rescued bears feeding, playing and resting in their forest enclosures at the Free the Bears Tat Kouang Si Bear Rescue Centre. Visitors can learn of the cruel bear bile trade and the history and current work of the Australian non-profit charity. Free the Bears (FTB) also offers wildlife fans the
GETTING THERE Lao Airlines has daily flights to Luang Prabang. The Tat Kouang Si Bear Rescue Centre is located about 30 km southwest of the city at Kouang Si Falls. MORE INFO For more information on the Bear Care Tour and to book please visit freethebears.org/pages/ bear-care-tour-laos
chance to go behind the scenes with a Bear Care Tour. The Bear Care Tour provides guests the opportunity to learn more about what it takes to care for the bears. Participants learn about individual bears and then challenge the foraging skills of the bears by making enrichment and hiding food in the forest enclosures. Established in 2003, the Rescue Centre is 23km outside of Luang Prabang. There are currently over 30 moon bears at the rescue center, ranging from cubs to fully grown adults, all of which have the distinctive white V crescent on their chests from which their name is derived. Moon bears, also known as Asiatic black bears, are classed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In Laos, their numbers are threatened by bile farms and the illegal wildlife trade. Bile farming is a cruel practice which sees bears confined to tiny cages throughout their lifetime, and bile removed daily from the gallbladders using a catheter. Moon bears are also
