The center spans 12 hectares and is the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. It has around 200 moon bears and sun bears, many of which used to be held captive for bile harvesting.

Two bears frolic in the playground at the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center in Chat Dau Valley, part of the Tam Dao National Park, an hour and a half to the north of Hanoi.

Upon arrival at the center, the animals are quarantined and carefully monitored for 45 days. Health checks, including x-rays and examination of teeth, mouth, feet, and claws, are done once every two years.

The center has around 100 workers and experts, including foreigners, to take care of the bears. Chien said the bears are fed three times a day, twice outside and once inside their enclosures, before they go to sleep.

Staff at the center prepare foods for the bears. Fruits, carrots, sweet potatoes and milk are on their menu.

Chien said: "Five amps of electricity flows through the fences of the semi-wild enclosure. The bears step back if they touch an electrified fence, and after doing that a few times they learn not to go near the fences."

Each enclosure is 2,000-3,000 square meters large and houses 20 bears. If a bear cannot get along with the rest of the group, it is moved to a different enclosure.

Aerial view of the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center.

Around 600 bears are still held captive across Vietnam. Both the moon bear and sun bear are listed as vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

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Source: VnExpress