Formerly ‘traumatised’ moon bear thrives at Vietnamese animal sanctuary

July 2, 2024

Nigel Benton

A moon bear who spent 20 years living in a cage at a bear bile farm is reported to be thriving at Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary in Vietnam.

Rescued as of early last year, the moon bear, known as Dawn, was scared and balding and helpless when she first arrived at the sanctuary but, a more than a year on, is now thriving.

Before the nonprofit arrived, Dawn had spent two decades spent 20 years in a small cage at the bile farm, enduring routine bile extractions - a painful process where the animal’s bile is extracted while confined.

At the time of her rescue, the moon bear was described by Animals Asia as "the most traumatised bear" that the organisation had seen when they rescued her in 2023.

Over a year later, she has largely recovered and, to celebrate this, and mark the recent Endangered Species Day on 17th May, actor Dame Joanna Lumley created a video with Animal Asia about the resilient moon bear.

In the moving clip, Lumley recounts Dawn's devastating beginnings and the many milestones the bear surpassed to reach where she is today.

Lumley said in a statement “seeing Dawn's transformation from a life of darkness to one of hope and happiness is a profound reminder of the resilience of those magnificent animals and the power of compassion.

“This video not only tells the story of one bear's journey to freedom but also calls on each of us to act and help end the cruelty of bile farming. I am so proud to stand with Animals Asia, an organisation poised to eradicate the centuries-long practice of bile farming in Vietnam and rescue the remaining bile bears in the country. Together, by supporting this vital cause, we can provide these endangered animals with the dignified life they rightfully deserve."

Animals Asia believes bear bile farmers placed Dawn in a dark, cramped cage when she was a cub and kept the bear there for 20 years until her rescue. When Animals Asia went to transport the cub to its sanctuary, employees found a bear distressed by the sight of humans after a lifetime of neglect.

Dawn exhibited signs of psychological trauma - like head-swaying and a ‘learned helplessness’ that left her curled up in a tight ball at the slightest provocation. Animals Asia also found evidence of physical injuries, including hypertension, broken teeth, arthritis, an infected gallbladder and malnourishment.

After two decades in her tiny cage, Dawn finally left and moved into the quarantine area of Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary, where she stayed for 60 days. Despite having a much larger space, several dedicated caretakers, and plenty of food, Dawn struggled to adapt to her new surroundings at first because of the trauma she endured.

Shortly after her arrival at the sanctuary, Sarah van Herpt, Animals Asia Senior Bear Team Manager, advised “while she is often calm, engages well with enrichment activities, and will even hand-feed, she can become overwhelmed in certain situations and completely shuts down.

“In these moments, she retreats to a corner, turns her back to whatever frightens her, tucks her head into her abdomen, curls up into a ball, and visibly flinches at any noises while in this state.

“It is one of the worst things I have seen in my time here, how incredibly fearful and shut down she is in these situations. Dawn has obviously learned this: no matter what she does, terrible things will keep happening to her,"

However, through patience and compassion, the staff at Animals Asia taught Dawn that the "terrible things" she went through had ended. In Spring 2023, Dawn started smiling and acting more social with her human caretakers, who worked to gain the bear's trust through rapport-building sessions with lots of treats.

Many more firsts followed Dawn's initial smile. In May 2023, the moon bear was released from the quarantine area and moved into her new den at the sanctuary. Shortly after that, Dawn luxuriated in her first bath. In June 2023, after undergoing dental surgery, Dawn started to eat solid food. In the Summer of 2023, Dawn began making friends with a few other bears at the sanctuary and took her first steps outside.

After all these milestones, Dawn is a far different bear than when she first arrived at Animals Asia's sanctuary having grown back all her fur, exhibiting curiosity and playfulness, while trusting that the humans around her are there to care for her.

Animals Asia's founder, Jill Robinson noted “it's hard to believe Dawn is the same frightened little bear who came through the sanctuary gates just over a year ago.

"Today, she has a life she never dared dream of - grass under her paws, the breeze ruffling her fur, and a love she'd never known warming her heart. Dawn's journey is a testament to the resilience of the spirit and the healing power of kindness."

Animals Asia
Animals Asia is working to bring this kind of happy ending to all the bears stuck in bile farms in Vietnam. In 2017, after years of negotiation with Animals Asia, the Vietnamese Government agreed to end bear bile farming and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Animals Asia, naming the charity their official partner in closing the industry.

Since then, Animals Asia has been working to move all the bears remaining on bile farms to its sanctuaries. In November 2023, Animals Asia opened its second sanctuary in Vietnam. Once this sanctuary is full, Animals Asia estimates that no more bears will be trapped in bile farms in Vietnam.

Click here to visit Animals Asia's website.

Images, Top: Dawn the moon bear shortly after her rescue in early 2023 (left) and Dawn a year after moving into an Animals Asia sanctuary in Vietnam and below: Dawn smiling during her recovery at Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary. Credit: Nezahat Sevim/Animals Asia.

About the author

Nigel Benton

Co-founder/Publisher, Australasian Leisure Management

Nigel Benton is the co-founder and Publisher of Australasian Leisure Management, Australia and New Zealand’s only magazine for professionals in all areas of the leisure industry. Having established the magazine in 1997, shortly after his relocation to Australia, he has managed its readership rising to over 11,500 and its acceptance as the industry journal for professionals in aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues.

In 2020, he launched the new Asian Leisure Business website.

Among a range of published works and features, his comments on a Blog (blogspot) from 2007 to 2011, when this website went live in its current form, may be interesting to reflect back on.

Click here to connect with him via LinkedIn.