Volunteers at the Free the Bears Fund Sanctuary

October 2008, February and March 2009

Location: Mekong Delta Bear Sanctuary, Hon Me and Cat Tien Bear Sanctuary, Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam
Perth Zoo Field Workers: Trueman Faulkner (Exotic Mammals supervisor), Michelle Rouffignac (Veterinary Nurse supervisor) and Emma Gatehouse (Asian Carnivore keeper).

Free the Bears Fund Inc (FTB) is a non-government organisation dedicated to the protection and conservation of bears throughout the world. Based in Perth, FTB currently works in six Asian countries and has been active in Vietnam since 2008. FTB has worked in partnership with Wildlife at Risk (WAR) and the Forest Protection Department of Vietnam to create several sanctuaries for rescued bears in southern Vietnam.

Situated in a national park, Cat Tien Bear Sanctuary (Cat Tien BS) currently holds 20 rescued bears. The bears are assessed, quarantined and cared for before they are transported to Mekong Delta Bear Sanctuary (Mekong Delta BS) in Hon Me.

More than 4,500 bears are kept in bile farms throughout Vietnam, despite all trade in bears and their body parts being illegal. Bear bile, which is valued in traditional medicines, is extracted from the gall bladders of live bears that are kept in terrible conditions. The active ingredient in the bile, ursodeoxycholic acid, can be produced synthetically.

Currently FTB and WAR have limited access to regular supportive care for rescued bears at their Vietnamese sanctuaries. The sanctuaries need experienced volunteers to help set up the facilities and to train local staff in bear husbandry.

Perth Zoo works closely with FTB and contributes to bear conservation through the Zoo’s fundraising program, Wildlife Conservation Action.

Goals

Michelle Rouffignac: Recently my husband, Trueman, and I decided to use a combination of long service leave and leave without pay to volunteer at Mekong Delta BS for a year starting in early 2010. We want to help in any way we can – setting up the sanctuary, assisting in training, providing care to the bears. We’re taking our two-year-old son Bruce and newborn daughter (who will be six-months-old when we travel) along with us.

To get a feel for the place, and also to see how we’d cope with two young children, we visited Vietnam in October 2008.

My return trip in March 2009 was to visit Animal Asia’s Moon Bear Rescue Centre in northern Vietnam to observe the veterinary care required for the confiscated and donated bears. This included looking at the techniques and protocols that were successful, in order to implement them at Mekong Delta BS.

I then spent time at Mekong Delta BS discussing the veterinary set up with Bear Manager Nev Broadis and made a plan for the layout of the veterinary treatment room.

Trueman Faulkner: The idea of volunteering with FTB is to impart our veterinary and animal husbandry experience to assist with caring for these bears. When we went to Vietnam in October 2008, we were there to assist with the release of bears into a large one hectare enclosure at Cat Tien.

Seeing how Cat Tien BS is managed has allowed us to identify possible issues associated with caring for the bears at Mekong Delta BS. In March I visited the sanctuary to look at site management, design of a house for our family, design of further bear dens and location of possible outdoor enclosures. We also reviewed waste management and fresh water supply.

I supplied the staff with the expertise I have gained from working at Perth Zoo, including the specifications for the bears’ night quarters, husbandry and exhibit design.

Emma Gatehouse: During my eight weeks overseas I visited bear sanctuaries in Cambodia and Vietnam, using my knowledge from Perth Zoo to help out where needed. I spent two weeks in Cambodia at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, also run by FTB, where I met 103 bears that were rescued from the wildlife trade.

My stay at Cat Tien BS was very busy as bears continually arrived and the construction of the bear housing was still underway. I was involved in a variety of jobs, including training local keepers, building bear houses and outdoor exhibits, cleaning and feeding the bears, teaching natural behaviours to the bears, helping with medical treatments and introducing bears to each other and monitoring how they interacted. I also gave the bears behavioural enrichment and activities to keep them occupied and happy.

Highlights

Michelle: During the October visit it was very reassuring to see how well our two-year-old son adapted to everything from the food to sleeping anywhere we set up his travel cot. My experiences in Vietnam have also allowed me to gain a better understanding of the plight of native bears over there.

I feel like we will return to Vietnam with a good idea of what to expect from the work we will be doing and the culture we will live in. During these trips Trueman and I were able to have a good head start on where and how to get the veterinary items as needed. We have developed a good relationship with the FTB people on the ground in South-east Asia and this network will be invaluable when we are there.

Trueman: The first trip to Cat Tien involved releasing 16 bears that were previously living in 2 m³ enclosures into an exhibit spanning one hectare.

Working in close contact with them was invigorating and seeing them climb for the first time in more than four years was very memorable.

Seeing the potential of Mekong Delta BS was also a highlight. It is relatively untouched with luscious greenery and is basically a clean canvas for the placement of exhibits with no existing infrastructure to have to work around.

Construction also happens really quickly in Vietnam because labour is relatively cheap. I saw a bear house designed for ten bears constructed in two-and-a-half months!

Emma: I was confronted with the different circumstances the bears were rescued from, which included bears – and cubs – that had lost limbs, had behavioural problems or were orphaned. However, once they were rescued and had settled into their new environment they were healthy and happy and relaxed with their new natural home, good food and medical attention. Seeing their new lease on life was indescribable. It was overwhelming to see them out of their small cages, and the terrible life that went with it, into a natural forest with activities, food and humans they could trust.

Overall the experience was very gratifying. Living in a national park surrounded by native animals for six weeks was spectacular and seeing the difference I made by helping out was very rewarding. Being exposed to a variety of bears also allowed me to increase my skills and knowledge which will benefit my work at the Zoo. I got to see the fruition of the conservation work that I support at Perth Zoo.

Challenges

Michelle: Making sure that Bruce was safe around the bears during the October visit proved challenging at times – they are wild animals and he was a little bit keen to touch them. During the March visit I was six months pregnant and sometimes it was difficult to ensure I wasn’t eating things I shouldn’t. Occasionally the language barrier was difficult but Trueman and I are learning Vietnamese to help with our year-long stay.

Trueman: The site in Hon Me relies on a natural spring where the dry season affects water availability. It just means we’ll have to find an alternative water source, such as external tanks, once animals arrive on the site.

There is also limited availability of vehicles other than scooters. Sourcing the dietary requirements for the bears might prove difficult at times because of the site’s isolation.

Emma: Though the scenery was spectacular being based in a national park meant that there were limited resources.  That said, having to fend for myself with limited equipment and food was a good kind of challenge. The language barrier presented some interesting situations, but this could usually be helped by a game of charades.

If you would like to learn more about the work of Free the Bears Fund Inc visit www.freethebears.org.au.