The Wildlife Friends Mobile Clinic funded by "Care for the Wild International" responded to another emergency last week.
This time it was a 10
year old Asiatic black bear who has been living alone in a large cage
for 7 years at a Buddhist temple in Korat. The bear was moved from
another temple where her previous owners, who kept her in their house,
had given her up when she became too big. Surrendering animals to
Buddhist temples is a common practice in Thailand.
The bear was in a very weak state and hardly moving. She was having a
high fever and had several maggot infested wounds. Blood poisoning was
also found after several tests were done on her while she was treated.
The abbot of the temple had called several other wildlife and animal
welfare organizations for help, but we were the only ones to respond.
After learning that the bear can have a happier life at Wildlife
Friend's of Thailand's (WFFT) bear sanctuary, the abbot agreed to let us
take her back with us. For the next two days, WFFT's veterinarians had
to perform complicated surgical procedures to remove maggots in her.
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By the third day, she was still very weak, not eating and there were concerns if she was going to get any better. However, after a few days, to the delight of the WFFT staff and veterinarians, she was found actively playing, eating and almost tearing apart her quarantine enclosure. She will soon be placed near the other bears in the "FREE THE BEARS COMPLEX" to socialize and to be introduced to her new bear friends at the WFFT sanctuary. This will be her first contact with other bears in many years. All of us are all very excited to see her begin her new life with other bears.
