Brown Bears (Info, Pics and Videos)

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This is one stunning story, in sad way, from 2018. These bears were finally lucky, but it is simply disgusting  that these bears had to be rescued in the  year 2018 from a Japanese "culture museum" where they were held in tiny cages as living exhibits!?!?!?! And Japan is considered to be civilized country...... This article isn´t good to read if hoping to have good mood, but then again if this kind of animal cruelty cases are just passed by it´s not good either. Captive animals deserve to be treated with some minimal respect and obviously it´s not the case in Japan. Hopefully it could be said soon, that it wasn´t. But this isn´t the case of some irresponsible private owner. This disgrace has happened with acceptance of officials in Japan and there are no excuses for this kind of shameful act. To say, that reading this made angry would be a huge understatement. Only good thing is, that at least these bears were saved from barbaric conditions.

Quotes:

• Kai, a 17-year-old Ussuri brown bear, has lived in 6ft by 9ft cage since he was snatched from his mother as cub
• He was one of four bears taken from Ainu Culture Museum on Hokkaido, Japan, to Yorkshire Wildlife Park
• Eighteen months ago tourists brought bear to attention of Wild Welfare, a charity that helps captive animals
  

"First, there is a long snout with two black nostrils as full stops. The mouth is open, as if in shock. Eyes that could be made of glass in a huge, wide head beneath cartoonish round ears. He waits. The metal shutter is lifted. The eyes peer, anxious. And then a huge paw, nails so long they remind me of Freddy Krueger, takes a very first step on to grass.

Kai, a 17-year-old Ussuri brown bear who has lived in a 6ft by 9ft cage since being snatched as a cub from his mother – who was shot by hunters – places a paw on something that isn’t cold, hard concrete. Yikes!

He snorts. He can’t believe it’s soft. He spies a toy, donated by the local fire service, one of many made from old hoses.
Kai has never owned a toy. He picks it up and, thrilled, carries it inside his den.

The keepers at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster don’t want to cheer, as that would be alarming. Instead, water leaks from eyes as phones are held aloft to record this momentous moment.

Kai is one of four bears who existed as ‘living’ exhibits in the Ainu Culture Museum on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s islands. The cubs were once sacrificed, but when that practice ended they were simply locked up. These brown bears are rare: there are only about 10,000 left in Japan.

Eighteen months ago, Western tourists, shocked at the barren conditions, brought the four bears to the attention of Wild Welfare, a UK charity that helps captive wild animals. The two brothers, Kai and Riku, would eat, then vomit, as that gave them something to do; all four bears would pace, driven mad with boredom.

‘The museum wanted the bears rehomed,’ Georgina Groves of Wild Welfare tells me. ‘They didn’t have the facilities. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anywhere in Japan that would take them.’

She got in touch with Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP), which has an incredible reputation for rehabilitating wild animals. They said yes, of course.

Kai and his fellow inmates were flown 5,400 miles from Japan to the UK, where they arrived on August 3. DHL provided air-conditioned road transport – at a discount price – while the bears were flown in the hold by Japanese Airlines. The journey alone cost £150,000.

A team of five vets – two from Japan – helped with the move, which began in 36C heat. Only Hanako, the 27-year-old female, the most inquisitive of the four, went willingly into a crate. Amu, 27, a gentle giant, and brothers Kai and Riku had to be tranquillised."

*This image is copyright of its original author

Making a splash: Within minutes, having ripped the bark off a tree stump as easily as if it were a plaster, he has discovered the lake. Whoosh!

The whole story and more photos here, this is something people should read, this shouldn´t be allowed anymore anywhere:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6050829/After-17-years-Ussuri-brown-bear-tasted-freedom-time.html Reply