Rescued Brown Bears - at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

These Ussuri brown bears had been living in outdated cages at the Ainu Cultural Museum, on the island of Hokkaido, Japan.
They have been flown to the park from Japan and now have a large reserve to explore rather than living in tiny cages with a concrete floor. Each bear lived in a separate cage.
They seem to be settling in well.

[@tsbrowne6787]

GOD BLESS YOU, for rescuing them!!!

[@moragmckay7673]

Our sadly missed Kai and Riku. Their dreadful first 18 years in individual, cramped, concrete cages on starvation diets gave them insurmountable health issues. It was a privilege to watch their progress for more than a year as they learned not to fear grass or water, to search out ingeneously-placed, unfamiliar, nutritious foods and to interact socially with one and other, playing for hours in their large field and pond. When Kai, after the carefully veterinary care was no longer enough to ease his suffering, had to be euthanised, Riku, himself having severe arthritis, pined heartbreakingly, and followed his brother a few weeks later. In their short time at YWP they made a huge impact on everyone who saw them, or followed their story. They showed that even after all those years of dreadful deprivation, they had gained 50% body weight, overcome their fears and learned to be bears again. However pitiful an animal seems, it is never too late to step in and try to improve their life, as Wild Welfare, who brought the Ussuri Bears to YWP's attention, does all the time. Occasionally it is by organising rescues, where the facility does not have the means or the will to make needed improvements, but often it is simply by teaching eager-to-learn local keepers the simple changes they can make to enrich animals' lives. This is knowledge they then share with other facilities, giving the work far-reaching benefits.

[@neonarcade3562]

I'm so glad these Poor bears were rescued.

[@Nitka022]

so so glad they were rescued! It is a beautiful rescue centre but I wish they had more trees there for the bears to enjoy more wooded like area...hope they will rescue more animals in need...

[@greenfingers41]

Nitka_22 The park is currently being expanded so hopefully they will be either rescuing more animals or assisting in breeding programmes of endangered animals.

[@Nitka022]

@@greenfingers41 Thank you for that information. It is a beautiful place and people have done fabulous work!Can't wait to see more videos of rescues and the new lifes of the animals. Hopefully will visit the centre one of these days. As I am in Australia need to wait to get to Europe first to do that...lol

[@moragmckay7673]

The Park does have many wooded areas, some set aside as nature reserves, some used for Lemurs, Painted Dogs, Okapi etc. The Bear rescue was an emergency situation, requiring quick acquisition of land and the efforts of local businesses and volunteers to provide what was most needed for them at the time. It was a rehabilitation reserve, designed to build their confidence, muscles, willingness to explore and seek out food etc. These Bears, severely damaged both physically and psychologically on arrival, were not equipped to benefit from trees; they were at first afraid even to step on the unfamiliar grass. An outdoor "cave" was later incorporated into the hill by their pond for shade outside in addition to their constantly-accessible den area. Check out the photo-sharing fan sites on Facebook to see the beautiful range of environments in the Park. By the way, I'm just an Annual Pass holder, not affiliated to the Park!

[@sharonstanley5054]

The poor bear looks like it is still cage pacing. But it is touching the ground, eating grass, feeling the sun and wind, and wrestling with a friend.

[@patriciamasters5539]

glad they have grass and sun and each other, sorry they are still gawked at by humans.

[@moragmckay7673]

From a fair enough distance- remember they are used to human company, so might miss it if withdrawn. Hanako, the old female, is in an adjoining field behind the larger one, so she gets peace and quiet.

[@moragmckay7673]

Shocking to see what poor condition they were in back then. I've gone regularly since before the public had access(peering through my zoom lens from the camel picnic area) and though I realised they'd progressed immeasureably, I'd blurred my memory of how underweight, stiff and straggly they were. If you've not seen them since then, go and see Kai and Riku looking like REAL bears now ... and acting like them too! Swimming. climbing and playfighting have built their muscles and their coats are thick and lustrous.

[@mop714]

Thank you for your informative news. I did see in the media about the bears coming to YWP, and I cried when I saw them in the cages in Japan, so I was thrilled they were coming to YWP, as rescuing these animals is often hard work, emotional and costly, so well done YWP.

[@mop714]

Thank you for the information. I remember these brown bears in the media, and could have cried when I saw them. It was good that the excellent conservation work at YWP, which is often hard work, costly and emotional accommodated the bears and they had some freedom and dignity towards the end of their life. Well done YWP.

[@walterwendner8542]

Beautiful 👍! Thanks for posting 👍!

[@greenfingers41]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@tonychorley4936]

Not sure a treeless flat pasture surrounded with paths so visitors can noisily stare at them really counts as somewhere to explore. Nowhere to hide or be peaceful, and visitors staring, photographing and calling out to them must be stressful.

[@howarth004]

Nice way to spend there days , far better than being in Japan , probably have finished up as some sort of medicine or food ... plenty of things here to keep them occupied ...

[@greenfingers41]

David Howarth Think it will take them sometime to get used to the space they have now.

[@gcmgome]

That is one sickly looking bear.

[@greenfingers41]

Sadly the bears were in poor health when they arrived at YWP due to the conditions they were kept in and a poor diet in their previous home. I’m afraid that all the bears have since died due to the existing health problems but at least they had some time enjoying a better quality of life.

[@gcmgome]

@@greenfingers41 - That is so sad. It makes you wonder how people can do that to these animals.

[@thewomble1509]

@@greenfingers41 So sorry I never got to see them when they acclimatised to their new surroundings. I went to the enclosure a couple of times not long after they arrived but I now understand why I never saw them. Man can be so arrogant and careless with the natural world. Hats off to the staff and all involved at YWP for giving these creatures a taste of real life before they prematurely left us. Well done.

[@TangoCat303]

This is bigger than a cage, but this poor creature is bored out of it's mind and pacing in an enclosure, observed by humans - just like a zoo. This is not an animal rescue organization I'd support

[@dianebyers5704]

Poor creature seems to have a rear leg injury on the passenger side. GOD bless precious critter and those who rescued them 🙏✝️❤️✡️🇺🇸

[@moragmckay7673]

They all suffered severe arthritis from being confined to tiny concrete cages where all they could do was turn in circles. One of the older Bears even had her legs on one side several inches shorter, from turning only in one direction. They also suffered severe mal- and under-nutrition, affecting the composition of their bones. Careful veterinary monitoring and care meant that the leg conditions were only noticeable some of the time, perhaps due to long periods of inactivity or over-strenuous play. When it was no longer possible to control the suffering with medication, the sad, responsible decisions were taken.

[@SeputarSatwaLiar]

May I take your video ? Please

[@greenfingers41]

You may.

[@SeputarSatwaLiar]

@@greenfingers41 ok thanks very much

[@WhiteTiger-gt3tn]

i hope this bear are still alive today. 🙏😇

[@sylvainlumbroso4429]

💓💓💓

[@davidcutts2650]

Interesting. You say rescued. Do you know where from?

[@greenfingers41]

David Cutts From Japan

[@Tyler-1203]

Interesting? You mean very sad. I’d like to look at the abusers in the eye and tell them what I think I wonder why they were keeping them in small cages, maybe for a bunch of idiots who went to gawk at them?

[@moragmckay7673]

@@Tyler-1203 They were outside the Cultural Museum to illustrate the traditional, rural practice of killing a mother bear, taking her 2 cubs, rearing them in a village for two years then killing them as part of a traditional ceremony (presumably meant to protect the village or something, originally). The museum sought somewhere to rehome them because they didn't have the space to keep them properly.

[@ZooScott]

✅