On the anniversary of Andrew's death in 2006, this beautiful song and words by Maria Daines shows that our bears are gone, but never forgotten. Andrew’s grave by the river overlooks the grassy mounds of bears, dogs and cats, who have enriched our lives. The immortal words written on his stone – “We are not weaker without you, but stronger because of you” – remind us all of why we are here.
His death touched staff and supporters around the world – and on this day of his anniversary, we’re launching an exciting new campaign in his memory. As part of our Healing without Harm campaign, we are joining together with traditional Chinese medicine doctors and pharmacists in China who have pledged never to use or sell bear bile or products.
More about that in the next blog in a day or so – but, for now, Maria’s song "Andrew", and the message I sent to the team on that unforgettable day we said goodbye to our beautiful Anderloo:
9th February 2006
Dear everyone,
I’m so sorry to pass on such sad news.........but we said goodbye to Andrew this afternoon. Early this morning he had a health check and ultrasound, which revealed that something was horribly wrong, and Kati and Phil then began abdominal surgery.
I won’t go into it now as it’s late and everyone’s so shocked and exhausted, but surgery was abandoned very early on as it became obvious that there was nothing we could do. It was the most aggressive and ugly cancer I have ever seen in my life and I don’t think anyone can quite believe it now.
The tumour removed surpassed anything we have seen before and, because the liver was so terribly affected (with approximately 5 per cent of its normal function remaining), Andrew’s blood wasn’t able to clot and he had been slowly bleeding to death.
Even yesterday, he ate more than he’d eaten the whole week before; those soft gentle lips pursing for another slice of tomato, a second tub of yogurt and a blueberry muffin, causing us to wonder for a second whether we were right to bring his surgery forward. So many variables are involved – and in the past we have felt surgery essential, only to find nothing medically wrong as the bears have entered a “normal” pattern of lethargic, inappetant behaviour associated with hibernation of the species in the wild.
Yet today, it was the killer we know so well... liver cancer; possibly originating from a tumour factor connected with the massive infection from damage caused on the farms, the demon that lurked silently in Andrew’s body, waiting for the chance to strike.
No words can ever explain the grief everyone here is feeling – we cremated and buried our mighty Andrew at 6pm with local TV cameras and the San Francisco Chronicle recording another chapter in bear farming history – an outpouring of anger and sadness which is difficult to describe even now, but which united everyone here with the conviction and determination that Andrew will never die in vain.
I know too that this will be a horrible day for you as well – Andrew was so much more than our ambassador, our friend.... he was the bear who began it all; our noble, forgiving, gentle giant who will live in our hearts forever.
RIP Anderloo, we love you.
Jillx
Share this article with your friends            | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
A quick, but very heartfelt thank you, to all of you who've already signed up to send the bears a bunch of browse for Valentine's Day. They will absolutely love this bear version of a dozen red roses!
And for those of you who still need a last-minute gift idea, there's still time to send some browse on behalf of your special someone. It's as easy as a just few clicks - and makes a perfect "green" gift from the heart.
Please see here for more.
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Just back from Vietnam where, as ever, I've been so overwhelmingly impressed with the sheer tenacity and professionalism of our entire team.
Led by our fearless leader in Vietnam, Tuan Bendixsen, everyone, but everyone, kicked in to make sure that the bears were safely delivered to our sanctuary, then prioritised for health-checks, before being settled into roomy recovery cages. Here's Tuan, far left, with some of the team and below, our head vet, Heather.
Now waiting for the final hurdle of surgeries before being released into dens and grassy enclosures, our new family members are eagerly scoffing good food and treats never before enjoyed.
Working over the weekend, our teams in Hong Kong and country offices made sure that the updates were sent out quickly to the media and supporters across the world - keeping everyone informed.
The highs have included bears whose characters are quickly shining through their trauma. Bears that like to make "pillows" of their straw. Others who have only been used to watery rice gruel, yet spitting out pieces of watermelon with all the distaste of a 5 star Michelin chef.
Bears like Simon (yes, named after Simon Cowell) who make us smile with a character that seems he is used to getting his own way, but a teddy bear underneath, and Nicole who, bless her lovely big heart, is the the pudgiest female we've ever seen in the history of rescuing bears.
The lows are coming in thick and fast too - poor Noodle who has a terrible injury on his tongue, John who's blind and missing a limb, and of course our beautiful Raspberry who was euthanised on the surgery table on Sunday after we found the most hideous infection ravaging his poor battered body.
Thanks to YOU for your messages of support and encouragement as the rescue goes on. You are everything to these bears as they prepare for the weeks of surgery and recovery ahead.
See here to read about these brave souls and celebrate their new lives, because you cared.
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Our Chengdu sanctuary has seen an exciting new structural addition this week – our Special-Care Area for bears who require some extra help and care as they struggle with the physical legacy of their previous lives on the farm.
Crystal, Jurgen, NIC, Asia, Kroenchen and Bamse have all been moved from their current bear houses into their “retirement home”, which will see them enjoying an environment catering to their special needs as they enter their twilight years.
The new area, comprising two enclosures back to back – River House and Bamboo House – was very kindly donated by Henry Wong and his daughter Kitty Wong of Hong Kong.
Here’s a pic of gorgeous Kroenchen enjoying a specially designed low-to-the-ground hammock.
Please see here for Bear Manager Anna’s report on the new area and some photos and updates about out lovely special care bears from Veterinary Director Heather, Senior Bear Manager Nic and myself.
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Fast on the heels of our conference in Beijing, which saw the attendance of over 250 traditional Chinese medicine doctors, scholars, government officials and policy-makers advocating the alternatives to endangered species, we then saw another exciting event in China – this time in Tianjin, near Beijing (where our beautiful brown bears, Caesar and Emma, were rescued with the help of the local forestry department).
On 22nd December we were joined by the government leaders of 18 provinces – who pledged to be bear-farm free. This accounts for over half of the country and was a groundbreaking step forward in our campaign to end bear farming in China.
A truly remarkable morning – to be sitting together with forestry officials from across the country who made their feelings clear, and were determined never to open their doors to bear farming in the future. In addition, these provinces have given a firm commitment that if farms are found during their investigations, they will close them down, confiscate the bears and place them in our care.
And some encouraging words from Toby Zhang, our China Director of External Affairs:
"Neither CWCA officials nor myself ever expected such a positive response from the provincial officials! It was so obvious from the start that most them agreed with us that bear farming should be ended because it is cruel, because it is potentially harmful to consumers, and because it is a stain on this great nation.
It was also obvious that a lot of them feel proud that they don't have bear farms, and that they have made the decision not to allow this industry in their provinces at all.
I know from my previous experience guiding Chinese visitors visiting our sanctuary, that Chinese people don't want to see the bear bile industry in this country, and this was confirmed again by the officials' response to my presentation on the day we all met."
This is fast becoming a special year for the bears in China, with many more activities planned. Our next step is to build upon this pledge with other provinces in the country – and launch an exciting new venture with doctors and pharmacists of traditional Chinese medicine as part of our Healing without Harm campaign in February of this year. More about that soon....
Please see our media release and web report on the groundbreaking commitment from China's bear-farm free provinces.
2010 is our Year That Matters – please stay with us as we make it matter for the bears.
| Share this article with your friends | Donate to bear rescue appeal |
Previous
Calendar