Found in a house

16 bear cubs rescued from captivity in Laos

The 16 bear cubs are bottle-fed.

(Bild: AFP)

Animal rights activists in Laos have rescued 16 malnourished bear cubs of an endangered species from a house. A total of 17 black bears were found this week in a house in Vientiane, the capital of the landlocked Southeast Asian country.

One of the bear cubs was already dead. "When we arrived at the house, there were bear cubs everywhere," explained Fatong Yang from the wildlife conservation organization Free The Bears.

The bear cubs were taken to the Luang Prabang Wildlife Conservation Center, where they were bottle-fed and closely monitored. The group is "happy that 16 of the 17 are alive and have a second chance at a life without fear and suffering".

(Bild: AFP)

Mother bears probably killed by poachers
According to the organization, the rescued animals are ten males and six females. The bear cubs weigh between 1.3 and four kilos and are thought to be two to four months old.

Such small cubs are extremely vulnerable. In the wild, their mothers would never leave them alone and we suspect that their mothers were killed by poachers.

Fatong

"Cubs this small are extremely vulnerable," explained Fatong. "In the wild, their mothers would never leave them alone and we suspect their mothers were killed by poachers."

According to Free The Bears, police were called to the house after neighbors heard the cries of one of the bears. A Lao national has been taken into custody while police continue to search for the owner of the property, according to the group.

(Bild: AFP)

Asiatic black bears are also known as moon bears as they have a white coat pattern in the shape of a crescent moon on their chest fur. They are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).