First, let me introduce our lovely new cub, (nicknamed “Jingle”) and tell you about her dramatic rescue from a tree-top! Here’s a summary of the rescue report that I sent to staff:
“Rainbow received a call on Sunday (just after I arrived back into Chengdu) saying that a cub was high up in a tree in Xinfan (a small village near our rescue centre). Within 30 minutes, our Project Director Boris had gathered his team, Vet Jen hers, and we were speeding on our way to the area.
'High in a tree' was the understatement of the year – the cub was 12 metres up and not for coming down – particularly as the whole population of Xinfan and every other village in the area had gathered below to take in this unexpected sight. Hundreds of spectators, government officials, media cameras and even a puppy tearing around in excitement saw this as the highlight of the year. Meanwhile our Animals Asia team gathered thoughts and worked through a plan.
Lower branches were cropped away before Rocky climbed up a ladder and tied a rope around the tree. Although we’d been told this was a cub, she looked huge, high up in the branches, as the late afternoon light turned into dusk.
Jen and Wendy began loading the blow dart with drugs, while the ladder was moved and tied against an adjacent tree. Then, as Jen slowly ascended, Howard, Rocky, Ai, Xie Ming Yang, and more strong men began to pull on the rope to lower the tree holding the bear, in order to bring her more safely to the ground, and into Jen's range.
The darts were expertly fired but, not surprisingly, just missed their mark as the distance, branches and fading light played against Jen’s aim. After about 30 minutes and, as it was getting dark, the decision was made to pull the tree even lower to the ground, knowing that this risked it breaking, and the cub falling down.
Boris organised a net and duvet, which were placed just below and the boys pulled gently, but hard, on the rope. A terrific crack, the tree broke in two and the cub tumbled into the net. At that point a surge of media ran forward (despite poor translator Wen Yan trying heroically to keep the crowd at bay) and, in the mayhem, the terrified cub broke free and began to run for her life.
Within seconds, the duvet was recovered and with lightening speed the boys had pinned the wriggling cub safely to the ground, while Jen broke through the crowd with her syringe of anaesthetic, sending her into a gentle sleep.
After about 10 minutes the boys were able to relax their grip, and we had our first peek at our new family member. With adult teeth just through, she would be six months of age, but out of the tree, she was clearly tiny and considerably underweight for her age. She was also missing her front right paw and had obviously been captured for, or escaped from, a bear farm. Our team carried her over to the truck and loaded her safely into a recovery cage where Jen could then get a proper look and monitor her recovery from the anaesthetic.
Absolutely adorable with a tiny Douglas-shaped crescent, but an attitude growing bigger by the second as she slowly woke up, and began huffing indignantly as we arrived back at base.
A few minutes later, in the quietness of the quarantine polytunnels, her head plunged into her feeding bowl as she greedily sampled the first delights of a proper diet, before demanding more.
As always, so proud of our team – each and every one who dealt with the rescue, the media, the journey and the arrival home, and the ongoing tender loving care of this one lucky cub."
In fact, there is just so much that goes into even a relative simple rescue like this. As well as the “frontline” vet and operational staff, there’s also much preparation work going on behind the scenes:
The bear horticultural team set to work immediately giving the quarantine area a thorough clean and moving heavy cages; stores and maintenance staff readied quarantine boots, shoe covers and cleaning supplies, and prepared extra lighting as darkness approached; our wonderful chef and bear kitchen staff prepared delicious food for both hungry staff and our ravenous new arrival; Security staff braved the freezing outdoors to wait for "Jingle" to arrive; and translators, vet nurses, bear managers and volunteers all pitched in too – making sure everything went smoothly!
And this little cub's story got a great run in the Chinese media!
Please check back soon for the shameful story of "Misa Hai", who spent years being milked for his bile in a dark, dismal cage in a Vietnamese house.
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Earlier this month, our amazing Italian office helped to organise the most beautiful concert for our bears: “Uno Stradivari per la Luna” (A Stradivari for the Moon).
The concert was held on Friday 6th November at Carlo Felice Opera House in Genoa and was organised by our Animals Asia office in Italy in cooperation with the Carlo Felice Foundation, the Genoa Science Festival, and the Pro Canale Foundation (responsible for the conservation and management of one of the most important collection of musical instruments in the world), which provided the Stradivari violin.
Carmen, who represents us in Italy, gave an inspiring speech with the concluding words:
“Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods? Draw near them then in being merciful. Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.” – William Shakespeare (Titus Andronicus)
And then the concert began with Maestro Pavel Berman (solo Violin and Conductor), with the Violin Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1716, Marechal Berthier, owned by Alexandre Berthier, Marshal of France and Prince of Neuchatel, who was given the precious instrument by Napoleon Bonaparte, probably as booty from the war in Spain (the violin is worth 3 million euros);
The programme featured Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Ouverture Le Ebridi / Concerto per violino e orchestra op.64 in mi minore; Johannes Brahms, Sinfonia n.3 in fa maggiore op.90.
Attended by Gill from our UK office, the pictures speak for themselves. Carmen, Irene, Antonello and team bless your hearts for so tirelessly helping to organise a performance where Delaney – our gorgeous “wuss” of a bear – took centre stage.
Here’s what Gill wrote about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share wonderful music for the love of bears:
2009 has been an incredibly busy year for my lovely Italian colleagues and it reached a massive crescendo on Friday with their spectacular Stradivari concert in Genoa in aid of the bears, which I was privileged to attend.
I was completely speechless (a rarity I know!) when the full orchestra started to play, and with Delaney overseeing proceedings it was incredibly powerful and emotional, something I will never forget. I only wish everyone could have experienced it. Well done Italy it was an incredible evening. You should be very proud!! Big love Gill x
Although I had to miss the concert, I was in Genoa for the press conference at the beautiful Theatre Standard, which proudly hung from its façade the concert poster featuring our lovely China bear Lexa. Here with our Italian Director Irene, Animal Welfare Director Dave and Carmen:
Below is the poster in close-up. I thought you might also enjoy the fabulous invitation (featuring Bao Be) and programme cover (featuring Delaney). And just look at how the foyer was decorated with giant-sized photos of our bears:
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Just recently we proudly welcomed our UK trekkers on site in Vietnam. These unsung heroes had trekked over inhospitable terrain for lengths of anything up to 10 hours a day to raise money for the bears, and arrived with us exhausted, but unbowed.
Over the years, they have loyally and tirelessly stayed with Animals Asia – dreaming up ever more crazy and adventurous ways of raising precious funds. Lovely Sarah, Linda and Louise even braved skydiving in the spring, and the pictures made me shudder as their frozen smiles did a sterling job of masking the fear they must have been feeling at the time.
And here they were – joined by Sue, Dave, Oliver, Bernie, Cheryl, Aileen, Jane, Frances, Lou, Aga, Cathy, Louise and Kate – all with big beaming smiles as they met the rescued bears for the very first time.
We had a fantastic few hours together as our visitors first knuckled down to create enrichment toys for the bears, who would soon be ripping into cardboard boxes filled with a smorgasbord of nuts, seeds, fruit, honey, peanut butter and chocolate sauce. Here's Frances working hard and in the next pic, Oliver and Sue (with camera).
Sarah (below) even kindly taste-tested the chocolate sauce first!):
Vet Leanne and Bear Managers Belinda and Russell enthusiastically guided them through the various bear areas and gave an overview of their day-to-day work and responsibilities. And then of course it was the bears’ turn to take the stage and show themselves off as only these consummate actors can.
I thought everyone in the group would pop with excitement as they fed cubs Maggie, Angus and Taurus with small pieces of fruit and gushed about their soft, pink lips. The three little delinquents couldn’t get enough of all the attention and of course they stole the show.
Young Olly, who himself was a cub only two years ago, happily strolled over to the front of his den to say hi to his beaming sponsor, Oliver. Sleek and handsome, our gorgeous juvenile was a perfect example of how good food and heaps of tender, loving care can change the lives of skinny, terrified cubs destined for a life on the farms.
Linda had her “moment of a lifetime” when she met her Southampton group’s sponsored bear, Irwin Junior – named in memory of Steve Irwin. Aileen then met Mausi, who also arrived as a cub two years ago and is now glossy and glowing with health and befriended by Aileen’s granddaughter’s Hermitage School.
Tuan, our thoughtful Vietnam Director had worked with staff Yen and Nhung, and part-time volunteer Vanessa Seguin, to create some beautiful Vietnamese lacquer picture files and our guests were thrilled with their memento of the day.
And at this point I’m turning over the rest of today’s blog to Sue, who wrote a beautiful update after she returned home. We loved having you all on site – come back soon!
From Sue:
“What an experience. We saw the most amazing sights up in the northern hills – from majestic water buffalo to comical Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs – and stayed with host families, including a delightful family from the Red Dao tribe, one of several colourful ethnic minority communities that inhabit this area of Vietnam. Oh, and we stumbled across some rather revolting leeches that attached themselves to our walking boots and tee shirts.
There were fifteen trekkers in all and we crossed dodgy suspension bridges and fast-flowing rivers and ducked beneath row upon row of massive spider webs (quite an ordeal for one trekker who is arachnophobic), walking for up to 10 hours a day on occasions. On the final day we visited Animals Asia’s moon bear sanctuary in Vietnam, which is located in the beautiful Tam Dao National Park, a couple of hours from Hanoi.
There were tears of anticipation days beforehand, so you can imagine the emotion on the day! Jill and her team made us feel so welcome – in fact, we were made to feel as if we’d just completed Everest, and for some of us, that’s exactly how it felt.
The cubs were a delight, romping around in their pens without a care in the world. For those of us who had befriended a bear or who were lucky enough to have named a bear (Oliver’s magnificent Olly for example), it was an unforgettable experience.
We had seen these beautiful animals on the internet, but nothing quite prepares you for meeting them in the flesh. They looked so contented, ripping their way through the enrichment goodies we’d been invited to prepare for them earlier – honey brought over specially from England, along with nuts and raisins and a host of other treats. It was a delight to see their obvious joy at being free from fear and pain. It just makes you want to walk a hundred more miles to bring this miserable bear bile trade to an end.”
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Thank you all so very much for your good wishes and beautiful thoughts for Franzi, which are still coming in. Not surprisingly, so many people were heartbroken that she had passed away, but no one more than her own team of caring bear workers here in Chengdu.
Tiger and Wang Li had looked after Franzi for the past three years and had some lovely memories of when she and Rupert snuggled up together – so warm and contented in each other's company. They also shared one of their favourite smiles watching Franzi chewing seeds and nuts – and how she had a unique way of chewing them, oh so slowly, before spitting out the shell. In fact this touching moment is caught on the Animal Planet film “Moon Bears: Journey to Freedom”. How we miss those memories of a very special bear.
Wen Yan, one of our translators also reminded me how Peejou, the cat, will miss Franzi too. Peejou had an instinct that Franzi wouldn't mind her exploring her secret garden and indeed she never did – the picture here proves the point perfectly.
Her funeral was beautiful – bear carers and admin staff alike gathered around to say goodbye, while her favourite treats were lovingly placed on her tiny body to keep her company wherever her journey takes her next.
Standing at the graveside, we heard Charlie, Franzi's Bear Manager, suggesting that we should save the plot next to Franzi for her devoted “toy boy”, Rupert. And indeed we will for a day hopefully far in the future, because she adored him – and he her.
More tributes came in from people like our vet nurse, Hayley:
I never want to see any bears on the post mortem table, but Franzi is one of those that I truly hoped I would never have to help with. It just won’t seem real. She is the bear that sticks most in my mind when I first went to Jill's talk in the UK over four years ago, so meeting her was like meeting a celebrity! She has been a star to the end though, and Rupert’s area just won’t be the same.
From our Senior Bear Manager, Nic:
I think she was the first bear I weighed. The little madam was on to me and knew I was new to it all. She happily came into the weigh cage but refused to leave. Myself and Anna tried every which way to get her out and it was some two hours later that she did venture out – on her terms, of course.
She was – and still is – an institution. Forever an ambassador for all moon bears incarcerated. Her physical presence may be gone, but her fight will go on in spirit forever.
From our Marketing Director, Juanita:
What a precious soul. May she rest in peace in a beautiful sanctuary with Andrew and Mafi and Willow and Peace and Chengdu Truth and all our bears, and the many others unnamed by uncaring farmers, but named by us. I have no doubt who would emerge boss and soon find some poor unassuming fella to peel her grapes.
From supporters like Lee in the UK:
I'm sure I'm one of thousands reading your story of Franzi's last hours (for the umpteenth time) with tears streaming down my face. Tears for her life of torture on the farm and laughter for her cheeky antics especially the farty ones. Only one consolation – Franzi stopped shedding tears and put her dreadful time behind her on the day she slurped her first and best ever fruit drink in the sanctuary. Everyone in Chengdu will miss that little bear with her huge heart.
From Eva in Germany:
Goodbye little bear and be sure, we will liberate all your brothers and sisters, who are sitting still in their jails. They shall not lose their hope.
From ex-Animal Welfare Director Mark in the UK:
She was a bear that will always remain firmly embedded in my mind as a symbol of both how cruel and how kind human beings can be, and of the forgiving nature of animals.
From Natascia and Tiziana in Italy:
So much pain and sadness for the death of Franzi.... Thank you Jill and all the staff for having given her 7 years of LIFE and LOVE.
From ex-vet nurse, Claire:
A special memory of mine is the time when I reported to you that I was worried she wasn’t eating, so added more jam, but still not interested so added more! As we walked back together to see how she was, ALL of the food had gone – not even any evidence that she had been offered anything in the first place! Not a single morsel. She must have slurped it all up as soon as I left, making me look a bloody fool – she had been trying it on with me for more of that sugar!!! We just both burst out laughing......cheeky little bear.
… and from ex vet nurse/bear manager Anne-Marie:
My heart lurched when I read the heading “Farewell to Franzi”. It was the e-mail I know you never wanted to write. For so long she had defied her own failing body and amazed us all with her ability to rally after bouts of ill health. How could such a small stature house be such a powerhouse of resilience, stubbornness and unique charm? God help us if she had been the size of her character!!
Her time before the centre was a tragedy, but her life on the other hand was a triumph. So, as I say goodbye I will remember a small, bossy, cantankerous bear who ruled Rupert and bear workers alike. Who cared nothing for ceremony and would pass gas from both ends regardless of which dignitary came to visit HER den. Who lived her life on HER terms. Her moon will forever shine in our memories and her tiny paw prints remain forever in the hearts of the people whose lives she touched. Thank you Franzi for the honour of knowing you.
I hope you smiled through these as I did. Franzi was the most perfect example of an individual bear determined to shrug off her years of torture and live every day that was all about her. Here is the final picture taken by Rainbow minutes before she died and which then found it’s way onto the front page, no less, of one of Chengdu’s top newspapers.
Saying a final goodbye, recalling the time when we opened the doors from her new den into her very own secret garden so many years ago and watched in floods of tears as she said “thank you” as only she could. Here’s what I wrote at the time:
Jan 2004
She investigated every nook and cranny, she went into a pool which Claire said she wouldn't touch, she scrambled over rocks which I said she’d never go near, she climbed up the wall to get a view of her human neighbour :), she hugged a tree (look at her little clawless paws), and she ran and ran and ran like a lamb in spring. Jx
And lastly, a lovely tribute from Tele in our Hong Kong office:
And today, it seems that Tolstoy’s immortal words were written just for her: “Every man and every living creature has the sacred right to the gladness of spring.”
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Dave Neale, our Animal Welfare Director, was with us when we visited barbaric live-animal markets and wildlife parks in southern China a few weeks ago. He has kindly agreed to let me share with you here these beautiful words, which he wrote on his flight home:
All that you have is your soul
Imagine being born into an empty world, a world with nobody to comfort you, nobody to keep you warm, no hands to cradle you and nobody to provide for your instant needs, just an empty cavernous void.
As she lay on the cold, dirty, concrete floor this was all she had, she had been born into a meaningless world. Not one person knew of her existence, her mother was unable to reach her never mind provide for her needs. This was the “fate” of just one small kitten in a live-animal market in Foshan, southern China.
Her mother was crammed inside a crate with dozens of other undernourished, terrified and diseased cats waiting to be dragged out of their pitiful home to be brutally slaughtered and eaten. The cat traders lounging around the crate had not even noticed as she gave birth, her offspring had instantly fallen through the cage bars and now lay on the dirty, cold concrete floor below. Not noticed as she lay their whimpering for her mother, whimpering for the hand of kindness we all need no more so than in the first moments of our existence, whimpering for her life.
The course of this kitten’s life was heading towards death on that very floor that she laid on until we saw her squirming below the cat crate whilst we were visiting and documenting the awful conditions at this market. We picked her up, and hiding her from the traders, smuggled her back to our car. Suddenly in the space of a few seconds we had become responsible for her life. The hand of human kindness had miraculously arrived against all of the odds.
As we sat in the car trying to meet the instant basic needs of this poor lost soul, outside the cats still lay on top of each other in their crates. Dogs were being thrown into filthy pens containing other dogs with obvious signs of life-threatening diseases, lying next to motionless dogs, their worlds already reaching a miserable end. Donkeys, goats, deer and pigs all packed into filthy pens – chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits on top of each other – no room to move, no room to live.
What force led these animals to be here awaiting an end to a miserable, painful life? What led to the kitten squirming and squealing for her life on a barren, desolate, diseased floor? What leads to the numbness of a market trader allowing him to beat a terrified animal whilst we watch holding back the tears for the misery and sorrow of these poor creatures? What leads to a young boy punching a bear in the face to make it perform for an expectant crowd? What leads a human being to remove the teeth of tigers and lions, beat them into submission and remove their very reason to be alive only to parade them around an arena and pretend they are fierce beasts to be “tamed”?
There is no one answer to these questions, no words to explain why, and it is with some sadness that I write these words following a number of days visiting safari parks and an animal market in China. In a country which is rapidly gaining and building its own unique identity after years of oppression, animals are suffering a fate that animals across the world suffer – treated as commodities, factory farmed in their billions, experimented upon in their millions and abused for our gains and entertainment.
Since the start of economic reform in China in 1978, China has risen to be the third largest economy on earth with a population of 1.3 billion people. China’s sheer size means that everything about it tends to be vast and this includes the animal suffering. But hope lies from within this vast country. As the sleeping economic and political giant rapidly awakens, so does the desire to protect, respect and care for the many billions of animals that share this vast land.
As market traders abuse and torture animals for food, as performers beat, humiliate and break the spirits of animals in the name of entertainment, as people sit back and laugh at the misery and sorrow of bears made to walk on their front paws or made to “box” each other in pathetic displays of human dominion so a new generation of animal welfarists is emerging. Welfarists willing to stand up and be the voice for the animals, willing to challenge the authorities on their actions and willing to question the very people that use and abuse animals in the name of entertainment and greed. It is in this generation that we find the hope for the future of China’s animals.
For all of these animals, stripped of their physical characteristics, their spirits beaten, all that remains is their souls. For each and every one of these souls, we have to be their voice, they have lost theirs the moment they are born into this cruel, heartless world. We have to fight for the rights of the lost souls and reduce the suffering of the many billions crying out for our help, and along the way save the individuals as well. Making a difference to just one life can have repercussions that help improve the lives of millions.
For this one kitten, even our hand of human kindness could not save her life. She died after receiving the love, care and ultimately the respect from within her new world. We named her “Panda”.
To Panda, you are beautiful in every single way, your life and the lives of every other soul that enters this world only to be taken brutally and callously without meeting the hand of human kindness, is worthy of more than we can ever provide. You were loved from the moment you arrived to the moment you departed.
I found this photo of Dr John holding Panda. A perfect little soul.
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