Wildlife SOS India

[Guest guest]

Information supplied by Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife SOS

 

The Bears flight to safety

 

> " Ashok " and " Julie " the bears from Goa have arrived safely at the Agra

> Bear Rescue Centre after their 17 hour long journey from Goa to Agra

> with Wildlife SOS. They are now settling into their new quarantine

> pens and will be cared for the rest of their lives. The Journey from

> Goa started in two secure specially designed transport crates

> specified to fit into the cargo hold of the Jet Airways aircraft. The

> two bear crates were loaded onto a Tempo and secured with ropes. Two

> members of the Wildlife SOS team travelled with the bears in the

> tempo. The tempo was piloted by a vehicle and followed by another jeep

> with the WILDLIFE S.O.S team in it. The team was up at 3 am and

> started loading the bear crates onto the tempo by 3.30 am. The tempo

> reached the Jet airways cargo hold at 6 AM. Here the bear crates were

> weighed and measured and the volumetric weight for each one was

> calculated and the paperwork completed. Then the tempo took the bear

> crates to the cargo gate of the Dabolim Airport where they were

> shifted onto a tractor trolley and transported inside. Here they

> waited on the tarmac while the wildlife sos vets and the team ensured

> the crates were secure and the bears were not stressed. Ashok and

> Julie were angelic bears and very co-operative. Finally the crates

> were loaded into the cargo hold on a conveyor belt. Inside the cargo

> hold they were secured with straps. Flight no 9W480 took off at 0810

> AM from Dabolim airprt in Goa and arrived in Mumbai at 0935 Hrs. The

> Jet airways cargo staff were extremely helpful and ensured the bears

> were loaded swiftly and smoothly to ensure least stress.

 

> In Mumbai the bears were unloaded on a conveyor belt and transferred

> to the cargo section. Here the wsos staff checked the bears to ensure

> they were okay and offered them a drink of water. Then the bear crates

> were moved to another plane Flight 9W406 to Delhi. Flight 406 suffered

> some turbulence and the bears did not like it because they had been

> conditioned for the last one week to think of the cage as a cosy and

> secure refuge. Now they were being jolted unpleasantly but the

> turbulence passed within twenty minutes and then the ride was once

> again pleasant.

 

> In Delhi they were moved onto another tempo quickly and driven to

> Agra. The last stage of the drive was again uneventful and the team

> arrived at the sanctuary at about 9.30 PM.where a meal of fresh

> porridge, milk and honey greeted Ashok and Julie. They had reached

> home. It was a one way ticket to freedom and joy!

 

> Background

 

> Ashok is three years old and Julie is five years old. Ashok is a very

> philosophical bear although he has all his teeth. Julie on the other

> hand is more irritable as she has suffered longer and perhaps had a

> more cruel owner.

 

> Ashok and Julie are now named as " John " and " Jo " after the couple who

> noticed the bears in their pitiable condition in a small Zoo and

> helped Wildlife SOS to bring the bears away to safety.

 

> Ashok and Julie had been in a small cage in a Zoo in Goa for about a

> month now. Ashok belonged to a kalandar named Imam Saabu and Julie

> belonged to Imams elder brother. The Goa Forest Department had

> confiscated these bears from a small town in Goa when Imam and his

> brother had brought their bears for dancing through Karwar in Karnataka.

 

> Once seized the bears were taken away to a small zoo in Goa about 2

> hours away from the Dabolim airport and kept there. Since there were

> no specialised staff for looking after the bears, the forest

> department had asked imam saabu to stay back and look after the bears.

 

> In this compromised condition the bears were unable to get the

> attention they required as they were not getting any exercise and the

> heavy brass ring and the rope through their muzzle started affecting

> their health. They had started loosing condition and their muzzles

> began to bleed and get infected. This was when John Hicks the founder

> of International Animal Rescue saw these bears and was touched by

> their pathetic condition. He brought this to the notice of the zoo

> authorities and the Goa Forest Department.

 

> Wildlife SOS was contacted and requested to help these bears. Wildlife

> SOS brought this to the attention of the Central Zoo Authority and

> with the help and support of the Goa Forest Department Chief

> Conservator Forests - Dr.D.Pandey and the Deputy Conservator of

> Forests, Uttar Pradesh - Mr.K.K.Singh, the permits and paper work for

> moving the bears from Goa to Agra were rapidly issued and the move was

> approved by the Central Zoo Authority, Govt of India.

>

> Summary / could be used for Press Release

> Wildlife S.O.S ® today relocated two sloth bears from Bondla Zoo in

> Goa to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility also known as the center for the

> conservation & rehabilitation of Bears. The two bears (male 3 years

> old) & (female 5 years old) were rescued by the Goa Forest Department

> from street entertainers.

 

> The bears had been used as dancing bears which is an illegal activity

> under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and the Goa Forest Department

> had acted swiftly to ensure their rescue. Realizing the bears required

> specialized facilities and handling to enable their rehabilitation,

> Dr. D. Pandey, Chief Conservator of Forests, made arrangements for the

> bears to be transferred to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility. Quote " This

> transfer of Bears has been approved by the Central Zoo Authority,

> Government of India with approval from Chief Wildlife Warden Uttar

> Pradesh. "

 

> A Bear specialist team from Wildlife S.O.S ® with bear experts and

> a Wildlife Veterinary Doctor was flown down to Goa from the Agra Bear

> Rescue Facility to prepare the bears for their journey from Goa to

> Agra. The team spent over a week acclamatising the bears to their

> transport crates. Special transport crates were designed to keep the

> bears secure in the aircraft. For a week the bears were given special

> treats of honey and fruits when they entered the cage and allowed to

> sleep in it. The vet had also begun treating the wounds in the muzzle

> which were heavily infected. The bears had already in the week spent

> with them become comfortable and relaxed with the WSOS staff. The team

> accompanied the bears on their first ever plane journey arriving by

> Jet Airways Flight 9w 406 in New Delhi via Mumbai at 1300 Hrs.

 

> Once at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, the bears will have their ropes

> removed from their noses and perhaps surgical intervention maybe

> needed to remove the huge brass rings that are embedded in their

> muzzles. After a period of Quarantine they will be introduced to other

> bears and soon wander freely in the large free - ranging areas in the

> rescue sanctuary..

 

> Quote from Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife S.O.S ® New Delhi : " By

> collaborating with the Forest Department we have been able to assist

> with saving an endangered species like the sloth bear. The Goa forest

> department should be congratulated for taking the action they took. We

> have been able to save 84 bears till date. "

 

> Quote from Dr Arun. A. Sha, Wildlife Vet: " Our experience shows that

> these bears will settle down very quickly in the Agra Bear Rescue

> Facility and in direct contrast to the long years of suffering, they

> will very soon learn to play and enjoy life like a sloth bear " .

 

> K. K. Singh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Uttar Pradesh Forest

> Department : " The Agra Bear Rescue Facility will be able to provide

> these animals the specialised care and attention they need. This

> project was established in collaboration with U.P.Forest Department &

> Wildlife S.O.S ® and the objective is conservation of the sloth bear

> species & to end illegal use of bears "

 

John Hicks, International Animal Rescue in Goa says: " clearly we are

delighted with the rescue of these bears & it is one of the most moving

experiences one can have to see bears that have been tortured

rehabilitated. "

 

--

Dave Neale

UK Director

Animals Asia Foundation

 

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