The second branch of the Bear Rescue Center Vietnam, funded by the Animals Asia Foundation, opened its facilities after more than a year of construction in the famous park in Thua Thien-Hue province.
Costing US$10 million, the center includes 6 bear shelters, 12 monitored semi-natural areas to help bears readjust to their natural habitat, a veterinary hospital and various areas for food preparation, education and treatment of bear waste.
It should ultimately welcome and care for more than 300 bears rescued from captivity.
An aerial view of the new bear shelters and semi-natural area of the refuge.
An electric fence keeps the bears in the facility.
The cage system of a “bear house”. Each room is a little over 20 m².
The interior of a room.
Upon arrival at the rescue center, the bears will be monitored by experts who will monitor their health and behavior from these cells. Once they are well enough, they will be admitted to the semi-natural area.
Cages to contain newly arrived bears.
Newly arrived bears must be isolated in these cages for 30 days to ensure they will not spread any diseases.
After a quarantine period, the bears will be sent to a clinic for a complete health examination.
Veterinarian Tran Khanh Ngan stands near a refrigerator to preserve samples from sick bears for research and testing.
The bear food processing area.
The center staff welcomes a delegation of students on a school trip.
Two captive bears were sent to the center Tuesday as the center’s first residents.
The two bears were held captive by a family in Hanoi’s Phuc Tho district for almost 20 years.
According to the Hanoi Forest Protection Department, 116 bears still live in captivity in Phuc Tho district, and authorities will continue to persuade their owners to return them.
In most cases, local residents breed bears to extract their bile for medicinal purposes and for sale.
Since 2006, Animals Asia has rescued 267 captive bears in Vietnam. The bears currently live at Vietnam’s Bear Rescue Center, the first facility located in Tam Dao National Park in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.
Two captive bears are brought to the rescue center in Bach Ma National Park on October 3, 2023.