Sun shines on six rescued bears celebrating their first real Christmas 20 December 2017

Before their rescue from a Vietnamese bile farm last year, these bears were kept in small, dingy cells - now they feel the grass under their paws and the sun on their faces.

A year ago this week, Animals Asia was racing to deliver the biggest Christmas present ever to a group of moon bears being farmed for their bile in the mountainous Central Highlands of Vietnam - a new forever home where they would be free from cruelty.

When the rescue team found Winter, Bi Xanh, Cranberry, Ivy, Poe and Snow on the farm in Buon Ma Thuot, they were cooped up in dark, concrete cells with a tiny window on one side and bars on the other - unable to touch each other.

For up to a decade, each bear had suffered the agony of having their bile extracted so it could be sold and used in traditional medicine. The anger, hurt and fear of being deprived the ability to express their natural behaviour for so many years was apparent to the rescue team.

But thankfully, with every passing kilometre on their 1,300km journey to Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, these brave bears were able to start putting the torment of the past further and further behind them.

From the moment they arrived at the sanctuary a carefully-planned rehabilitation programme has been implemented that has transformed these bears from scared, damaged victims, to playful, happy bears free to express their natural behaviours.

Animals Asia Bear Manager Louise Ellis runs us through each bear’s progress as they approach their first real Christmas since being rescued almost exactly a year ago:

Bi Xanh

“Bi Xanh is a high-energy, super-friendly bear who gets along with all the bears in the group. He can sometimes be seen running around the enclosure trying to entice any bear he comes across into a game, but his favourite wrestling buddies are Merricks and Hercules.

“Bi Xanh is definitely a charmer and will often sit at the front of his den, head resting on his paw with a smile on his face, watching the care teams going about their daily routine in the house.”

Cranberry

“Cranberry is a little bear with a big personality. She has settled into the group really well and her confidence has grown enormously since she first arrived at the centre. She still lives up to her nickname 'Cranky Cranberry' and is not afraid to put the other bears in their place, even bears who are twice her size! She also has a playful side and despite her crankiness is not immune to the charms of her old friend, the loveable Bi Xanh, and will sometimes allow him to play with her.”

Ivy

“Ivy is a shy bear who enjoys her own company for the most part. She loves food and spends a long time foraging for treats in the enclosure. Her best friend is the popular Bi Xanh, with whom she likes to wrestle. When she is not searching out tasty morsels in the enclosure, she loves to spend time snoozing the day away in her favourite spot in the enclosure - a tall platform from where she can watch (from a safe distance!) the antics of her ursine family.”

Winter

“When it was time to meet her new playmates, Winter was given an especially warm welcome by Hercules, the last farmed bear to be rescued from Quang Ninh province. Not only did he climb into her basket, but he also wrapped his massive paws around her in an enormous bear hug.

“Winter is currently choosing to spend her days curled up asleep in a cosy nest of browse and hessian sacks in her favourite basket. Like a few other bears at the centre, the aptly named Winter is showing signs of winter dormancy behaviour. In response to the cooler weather at this time of year, some of the bears become less active and more sleepy. And sleepy Winter certainly is - her loud snoring is a testament to that! This is likely to be the first year Winter has been able to express this natural cycle of behaviour, and being in a much better physical and nutritional state than when she was first rescued from the farm, her body is well enough to allow her to do this.”

Poe

“Poe and Snow are very playful boys and spend their days wrestling in the sun, along with their good friend Joe. Poe has worked his charms on female bear Su Su, who seems besotted with him and loves to share a splash around in the pool with him or a gentle wrestle in the grass.”

Snow

“Snow is coping well despite missing a large part of his tongue, and gets given a head start into the enclosure every morning so he has a chance to eat before the other bears hoover up the treats! He loves to climb, swim and play, all pleasures that when in the cage on the bile farm he could have only dreamed of doing.”

These six darling rescue bears are home for the holidays at last! Thank you for helping us give them a wonderful first Christmas!