Tuffy is a moon bear who has had a very difficult life.
During his first nine years of life, Tuffy was left locked in a small cage on a bile farm. At these farms, workers extract bile directly from the bears’ gallbladder to use in medicine in a process that is incredibly painful for the animals.
After years of this horrific abuse, Tuffy was finally rescued by the group Animals Asia, who brought him to a sanctuary in Vietnam where he could finally live in peace. Unfortunately, the veterinarian there found that Tuffy’s gallbladder was so damaged that it had to be removed, and he had three fractured teeth that had to be taken out also. On top of that, his paws were so dry and cracked that they were causing him lots of pain.
“The cracked paws are common to bile farm bears as they only walk on bars, not grass. Dehydration is likely to have contributed to this too,” said Animals Asia Bear Manager Louise Ellis.
When Tuffy finally recovered from his wounds and his surgeries, he was brought to live in a large enclosure that had a pool for him to play in. Tuffy had never seen water before, so when he got into his enclosure, he excitedly ran right for the pool!
Volunteers with the rescue group could not help but smile as they saw Tuffy enjoy playing in water for the very first time. After all he had been through, they were glad to see him finally having fun!
It quickly became evident that Tuffy loved being outside, as the bear would even sleep out under the stars.
“Coming from years of little or no water, for Tuffy this must feel like a true oasis after being parched and in pain for so long,” Louise Ellis said. “It must have felt like such a relief to have the freedom to splash around in the water after only being able to stand on the hard metal bars of the bile farm cage.”
Over the course of the next year, Tuffy gradually got healthier and put on weight. Once he was ready, he was moved to live in an enclosure with fifteen other moon bears who had come from difficult backgrounds as well. Tuffy immediately bonded with the bears, and was soon one of the leaders of the pack!
“We all adore Tuffy, he is such a playful bear that it is impossible not to fall in love with him. And when he’s having a good day, everybody wants to be his friend,” said bear manager Sarah van Herpt.
We’re so glad that after nine years of being trapped in a cage, Tuffy has finally found the loving home that the deserves. Watch his reaction to seeing his pool of water for the first time below.
Source: Animals Asia
