Wildlife Groups Rescue Nepal’s Last Dancing Bears

Wildlife Groups Rescue Nepal’s Last Dancing Bears

The “cruel” tradition of dancing bears in Nepal finally seems to have come to a dramatic end after wildlife groups rescued the last two bears. The World Animal Protection said on the development that these were the last two known illegal dancing bears in the Himalayan kingdom.

The two sloth bears, named Rangila and Sridevi, were rescued by the Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal and World Animal Protection, along with the help of Nepal Police. “We are thrilled that the last two … dancing bears have been rescued from their lifetime of suffering,” ABC News quoted Manoj Gautam from the Jane Goodall Institute of Nepal as saying.

After the two sloth bears were rescued, they were taken to the Amlekhgunj Forest and Wildlife Reserve for treatment. When rescuers tended to the animal, they said that the two bears showed signs of psychological trauma. The bears sucked their paw, cowered, paced as they were distressed by the situation.

“They are captured as cubs – the mother is usually killed to get to them – and then they are conditioned to behave themselves and obey,” Mary Hutton of the Free the Bears said.

Hutton said that the bears are trained with hot coals and needles only for the sake of getting money from tourists who come to Nepal. However, a campaign which rolled into action almost a decade ago has been purportedly successful in ending the illegal and cruel business of dancing bears in Nepal. Not only in Nepal, World Animal Protection has also worked with local groups to ensure that the practice of dancing bears has been eradicated in Greece, Turkey and other countries.

“I am pleased that for these two sloth bears at least; a happy ending is finally in sight,” Neil D’Cruze of World Animal Protection was quoted as saying.

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