Like many of the Asiatic black bears left in Asia, bear Cam spent a lifetime locked away in a small cage on a bile bear farm. Far, far away from the natural life or existence of any bear. He suffered in silence for his bile – used for generations in Traditional Chinese Medicine. But Cam is one of the lucky ones, his owner voluntarily gave him away, and he is able to begin a new stage of his life at our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh.

Although he was handed over to us, our team and the bear didn't get the time they needed to calmly walk him into the transport crate. Since our experienced staff is full of heroines and heroes, they made the best of the situation in a short amount of time and succeeded with this challenging and rushed mission. Just a short drive away was our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh, where Cam and the team arrived safe and sound. Cam then underwent time in the quarantine station, where he received veterinary care from FOUR PAWS veterinarians and caretakers over the following few weeks. To settle in, he was given some fresh watermelon and honey treats which he thoroughly enjoyed!

In the following weeks, Cam was moved from the quarantine station to one of the bear houses at the sanctuary and was already improving in both his mental and physical condition day by day. Although he is still quite a nervous and jumpy bear, easily scared by the sliding doors, you can also already see his sweet and friendly nature. He is very playful and plays all day with his enrichment. His enclosure is opposite bear Mo's, and despite his interest in getting to know her (there was a bit of mutual sniffing), Mo remains a little wary of him and mostly watches him from a distance or completely ignores his attempts to gain her attention! We hope at some point, the two bears will become friends.

With neighboring enclosures, Cam and bear Mo interacted with one another through the fence. After awhile, we decided to socialize the two bears together - which was a great success! Now the two bears have become inseparable! Cam showed the brave initiative at first, stroking Mo gently, until she eventually lost her shyness. Now both are are often seen playing and rolling around having a great time.

Stay tuned for more progress soon!