It's OctoBEAR at PAWS!
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM PAWS Performing Animal Welfare Society
October 2019

This month we are highlighting the five bears we care for at PAWS – and celebrating their amazing resilience in the face of great adversity.

Sadly, captive bears are often found in decrepit roadside attractions where they are caged in small, barren enclosures, without adequate food and water, veterinary care, and space to freely move.

Bear Sampson
Sampson was confined in a dilapidated drive-through zoo in Texas that had been cited for numerous violations of animal welfare law before being closed down.

Bear Ben
Ben spent years constantly pacing the concrete floor of his tiny, 12x22-foot cage in a North Carolina roadside attraction, where he was identified only as “Attraction no. 2.” Bears are also sold as “pets”, then often neglected, abandoned, or held in miserable conditions – like Boo Boo and Winston, who have been together at PAWS for 24 years.

Bear Boo Boo
When just a cub, Boo Boo was purchased as a gift for a young girl and later chained by the neck and left outdoors. The chain was never loosened and became deeply and painfully embedded in his neck; it eventually was surgically removed.

Bear Winston
Winston kept illegally as a pet until his confiscation. Though still young he was caged with older, aggressive bears and arrived at PAWS in poor condition with a severe bite wound.

Bear Mack
Mack has a different story. He was an orphaned wild bear cub who, when found, was missing his right rear leg. He was begging for food from humans – often a death sentence for wild bears – before being confiscated and later brought to PAWS.

Today, all of the bears play in their pools and walk on soft grass among the trees and bushes of their spacious habitats. At PAWS, they can do what bears naturally do: explore their surroundings, search for acorns and other foods, or make a comfortable nest to nap in.

It costs more than $6,000 a month to provide daily care, nutritious meals, veterinary care, medications, supplements and plenty of TLC for PAWS' bears. Please donate at the PAWS website.

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