The Indian sloth bear is accorded the same protection as the tiger under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Yet crimes against it are committed openly across India as these bears are made to "dance" for "entertainment" using tools of cruelty and torture by members of the Kalandar tribe.

Since 1995, Wildlife SOS has been working to "free" the dancing bear and bring an end to this illegal trade that is rapidly depleting the wild population of sloth bears (Melursus ursinus).

The story of a "dancing' bear:

This brutal practice of "dancing bears" entered India about 300 years ago. The trade is a sad story of poaching of tiny week-old cubs, brutal killing of the mother, trafficking of bear cubs only so they could be brutalised with excruciatingly cruel and painful training methods.

It is a shameful exploitation of wildlife to see these shy creatures of the forests stripped of all their dignity and wild behaviour being made to jump up and down in pain with a stick and the flicking of a rope. A baby bear undergoes utmost trauma when it is transported from one underground wildlife market to another till it reaches the Kalandar villages where it is trained for its short and brutal life as a "dancing bear".

As these grow up, their teeth are knocked out with a metal rod; male cubs are castrated using crude methods without anesthesia, their claws are chopped off, and a red hot iron needle is forced through their delicate soft muzzle through which a thick coarse rope is thrust. This wound is not allowed to heal so that when the rope is pulled the bear jumps up in pain making it appear like the bear is "dancing", much to the amusement of bystanders who are ignorant about the truth. They often pay the Kalandars, thereby unwittingly encouraging them. The bear's life is spent tethered to a four-foot-long rope and with a severely deprived diet.

Garnering support from the government and adopting a holistic, practical approach, Wildlife SOS has used a scientific approach to tackle the dancing bear issue. Kalandars were convinced to voluntarily surrender their bears to take up alternative and legal livelihoods with seed funds and training provided by Wildlife SOS. The bears were microchipped to prevent replacement and entry of new bears. The Kalandars signed agreements commiting not to use dancing bears again.

Wildlife SOS provides Kalandars training and support to establish them in fields of carpet weaving, tailoring, grocery shops, rickshaws, embroidery, jewellery-making. Wildlife SOS also subsidises school fees, uniforms and books.

Since December 2002, Wildlife SOS, working in tandem with forest departments has rescued over 400 dancing bears from a life of bondage. These bears have been rehabilitated at rescue centres located at Agra, Bangalore, Bhopal and Hyderabad which are run in collaboration with the respective state forest departments .

Around 300-400 dancing bears still dance on India's streets and await rescue. Wildlife SOS looks for your support to provide a home to these bears and develop the extension allotted to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility. This facility managed by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department is the largest rehabilitation centre in the world for rescued sloth bears spread now over an area of 160 acres near the Taj Mahal.

[To watch The Last Dance, a film that showcases Wildlife SOS's efforts to rescue India's dancing bears, visit www.thelastdance.info.]

Pictures: Troy Snow / Wildlife SOS

Here is how you can help:

• Don't pay money to street performers working with wild animals, like bears, monkeys, and snakes. For it's only after you stop encouraging this form of entertainment will these street performers think of adopting alternative humane livelihoods.
• Spread the message around: Educate friends and family and sensitise them to issues pertaining to exploitation of animals in street entertainment.
• Set a bear free: Support the bears rescued from the dancing bear trade where these bears are given the best of medical treatment and care and they all now spend their time frolicking in the ponds, smacking on honey and fresh fruits, climbing trees, playing and having fun and living their lives the way they should be…as bears and not objects of entertainment! 2000 $ rehabilitates a Kalandar and rescues a bear.
• Wildlife SOS is also involved in scientific conservation research including habitat conservation where agricultural land bordering forests is purchased and returned to nature. 25$ helps buy and protect 500 square feet of bear habitat.
• Don't purchase artefacts, products made of bear hair, claws, etc. Sloth bears are also killed for their gall bladder; their bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Bear cubs are exported to South East Asian countries and killed for bear paw soup.
• If you have any information about any illegal trade and exploitation of wild animals, please contact us at the email and mobile number mentioned below. Your identity would be kept confidential.
• To make an online contribution to support Wildlife SOS, please visit, http://www.wildlifesos.org/Donation/donationhome.htm

[Bear rescue and Kalandar rehabilitation work of Wildlife SOS is supported by international partners like International Animal Rescue, Free the Bears Fund Inc. – Australia, One Voice France, and Humane Society International-Australia.]

Wildlife S.O.S
D-210, Defence Colony
New Delhi-110024, India
www.wildlifesos.org
Email: wsos@vsnl.com
Mobile: +91-9810114563
Landline: +91-11-24621939
Fax: +91-11-41550480