URGENT APPEAL: CRITICAL SITUATION FOR ANTI POACHING EFFORTS AND ORPHAN BEAR CUBS IN INDIA
Posted on: 16/08/2010
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An estimated $8 to $10 billion is generated every year through wildlife trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade.
Monetarily, wildlife crimes are second only to narcotics crimes.
Hauser Bears works with a number of organizations on the ground. One of our partners who has done an immense amount of work in rescuing dancing bears in India is Wildlife SOS India.
Their current financial situation is critically affecting their levels of efforts for their anti-poaching unit and the care for the rescued bear cubs over the coming months. Already we are seeing a big difference and as far as we can foresee it will only get worse. These are very worrying times, and Hauser Bears is appealing on behalf of Wildlife SOS India.
We do have a little good news for you concerning four cubs that were rescued from bear cub poachers by the Wildlife SOS Anti Poaching Unit. We only hope that we can raise enough funds to continue to help them run their informers and keep up their vigilance with the anti-poaching and rescue units in the field, which can be an expensive enterprise.
DIGIT was in excruciating pain when the poor baby reached the sanctuary. His teeth had been knocked out and his tiny muzzle pierced with a hot, sharp iron needle by his captors. He is still very distressed over his short but agonizing encounter with humans and this is reflected in his occasional bouts of aggressiveness and fear. His muzzle wound is almost healed but the emotional wounds will take much longer. Luckily Digit is making a fast recovery under the tender loving care of the vets and his keeper - Satinder whom he absolutely adores. We are all thankful that the anti-poaching unit reached him before his spirit was further broken by beatings.
PEPPER the youngest and the smallest of the four cubs is a calm, peaceful and a friendly baby. At times he sits by himself and looks at the distance as if pondering over a deep philosophical theory. We feel his trauma of the separation from his mother and perhaps having witnessed the killing of his mother by the poachers is what has left him this way. At the moment he is quite cooperative for his weighing and treatment sessions. Like the others he is very active and explores all the enrichments that are introduced to him.
Rescuing these baby bears from poaching is always a first priority for our partners, but we are concerned that a shortage of funds will mean that they have to cut back on their anti-poaching efforts and vital operations. If the situation doesn’t change rapidly, the rescues of those baby bears will be forced to cease.
These little animals are traumatised and abused, and need the help of our organizations to give them a chance of a life away from their captors who killed their mothers and snatch them when they were only weeks old. We cannot afford to turn them away and if we did not react immediately to the information from the anti-poaching unit, these cubs would be sold on and disappear in the bear trade market. Wildlife SOS, with the help of their partners, have stopped the dancing bear trade in India but these are now smuggled over the Indian borders for the international trade.
Wildlife SOS rescues orphaned moon bear cubs tragically abandoned , when villagers kill the mother bears that wander into their orchards and fields. The beautiful moon bears are sadly caught between the vanishing forests and the intrusion of human beings deep within their forest homes. Wildlife SOS has been running conservation and education programs as well as awareness workshops in Kashmir in rural areas educating the local population on avoidance behaviour and how to co-exist peacefully with Moon Bears. Last year alone the Wildlife SOS field team worked long and hard to save over 48 bears. These bears were safely tranquillized and relocated deep into the safety of forests by their hard working team and prevented from terrible deaths by being beaten or burnt alive.
This is an urgent appeal, time is of the essence, please help us save these bear cubs from a life of torture.
We are facing a shortage of £150,000 so far this year. We need help to cover this gap that is endangering the conservation efforts of the anti poaching teams as well as the maintenance and care of orphaned sloth and black bear cubs.
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