Wildlife SOS rescued Gracie after a crucial call from the Jharkhand Forest Department.
The Jamtara Forest Division had seized a female sloth bear from the ‘dancing’ bear practice. They reached out to the Wildlife SOS team, who drove to Jamtara district to rescue and rehabilitate the bear at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility (ABRF).
Gracie is estimated to be somewhere between 10 and 12 years old, but for most of those years, she had been living with a captor and performing the cruel act that has long been declared illegal. Her muzzle was pierced for a rope to pass through, the tugging of which would control her and cause her so much pain that she would flinch. Fear and agony of the sloth bear was unfortunately sold to street audiences as a ‘dance’.
When our team first laid eyes on Gracie, they were shaken. Another ‘dancing’ bear, whose suffering was written vividly across her face. Her left eye, milky white and unseeing, told a quiet story of old, untreated trauma. Having noticed wounds from the ropes she was tied and bound with, the medical team immediately began wound dressings during her transition from the rescue site to the centre.
On Gracie’s first day at ABRF, it was evident that fear and anxiety caused her to make a loud sound if she observed anyone in close proximity. All of a sudden, Gracie would start moving in circles — standing on her hind legs, and beginning to jump. It looked like a performance. A lifetime spent performing on the streets whenever someone appeared has become a core memory rooted in torturous conditioning — it doesn’t leave the body or the mind quickly. Gracie did not do this because she wanted to. She did it because that’s what a person’s presence meant to her. Imagine being a baby bear and witnessing mother being killed by the poachers and afterwards the muzzle pierced with hot burning iron, through which a four feet rough rope is pierced! This four feet rope is what controls and torments life.
Before conducting any medical examination, and before the rope on her nose was touched, the team at ABRF allowed Gracie a few days simply to rest, to let the exhaustion of the journey settle, and to let the disorientation of a new environment ease out.
Gracie had been holding the rope in her own mouth while she moved around, perhaps to reduce the pulling sensation on her nose that caused her pain. In her quiet struggle, one understands how a voiceless animal is helplessly managing pain when it isn’t being taken away.
Gracie’s Health Status
After initial days of rest and observation, Gracie was chemically immobilised for the safe removal of the firmly lodged muzzle rope. The veterinarians used the opportunity to also conduct a thorough health examination, including a full-body X-ray and an abdominal ultrasound, to understand the full extent of what years of captivity had done to her body.
While her right eye’s vision is fine, Gracie’s left eye has significant corneal scarring. Therefore, she cannot see from it. In most cases with animals, invasive procedures tend to cause more stress than relief, and so, for Gracie, ocular lubricants were instantly prescribed instead to relieve her from discomfort. She was given probiotics for gastrointestinal distress, multivitamins and omega-3 supplementation. The wound on her muzzle, caused by the prolonged insertion of the rope, was observed and is being treated with regular dressing and medical care.
The examinations revealed further concerns. X-rays indicated osteoarthritic changes in the hip region, specifically in the coxo-femoral joint, suggesting erosion of the articular cartilage, which is reflected in Gracie’s slightly staggered gait. An abdominal ultrasound revealed pathologies in the liver and gall bladder. Based on these findings, Gracie has been placed on hepatic supplements, joint support medication, and immunoboosters.
Gracie’s teeth, the incisors and canines, were crudely removed during her time in captivity. This is commonly done to a ‘dancing’ bear so that it doesn’t attack its owner. While Gracie can chew with her premolars and molars, she can’t bite into tough food. With this knowledge, caregivers at ABRF have been cutting juicy fruits like watermelon and papaya into small pieces to make eating easier and less uncomfortable for her.
Her appetite, however, was found to be low, and is now a primary concern for the team. Caregivers are patiently understanding Gracie’s likes and dislikes, and providing her with food keeping her preferences in mind. Gracie was used to being fed flatbreads in captivity, and so, the team is slowly introducing her to a nutritious diet of millet porridge for her overall well-being. What she seems to enjoy the most is fruit, milk, and honey — in fact, any food that is mixed with milk and honey. Both these ingredients are helping to soften and digest her meals better.
Gracie’s New Abode
As part of our rehabilitation protocol, Gracie is residing in a quiet, soothing space in the facility for her quarantine period. Minimum foot traffic and minimum noise is allowing her to peacefully get acclimatised to her new environment. Her enclosure is especially designed in a way that resembles a wilder and more natural environment than the human terrain she is used to, helping her to revive her natural instincts. Understanding how her long years in human captivity propels anxiety when she encounters one, a single caregiver and one veterinarian are keeping a check on her well-being regularly. This is giving Gracie a chance, and time, to familiarise herself with them and their dedicated care.
For a bear rescued from years of distress, establishing trust in human care is not a secondary concern, it is the foundation of caregiving. And to create this as an everlasting bond requires intense patience and unconditional affection.
Gracie is, for the first time, experiencing compassionate care. One day, her caregiver heard a peculiar sound, one that surprised him, but brought him immense happiness. Gracie was emitting a low, humming sound that bears make when they’re feeling comfortable and content. While it can be compared to a cat’s purr, we’d like to call it the ‘bear’s song’. This was the first sign of healing that Gracie has reassured us with. Though she still has much further to go in this healing journey, for now, she is in a better place than where she has always been.
Another overwhelming incident took place when Gracie climbed up a tree. Sloth bears in the wild are known for their ability to scale trees, and watching Gracie do so meant she was embracing her natural skills. But an amusing episode was soon to follow — once the bear reached the top, it seemed that she didn’t quite know how to come back down! Much to the relief of the team, she did climb down the tree. And even though it took her some time to do so, this event is nothing short of a victory for Gracie, who is now willingly exploring her innate behaviour.
Despite her tragic past, Gracie’s future is bright due to the Jharkhand Forest Department, who helped rescue her, and our long-time partner International Animal Rescue (IAR) with whose support, we are able to provide this bear with a better future.
You can contribute towards Gracie’s welfare by sponsoring her care. You can also come forward as a monthly donor for Gracie.
Wildlife SOS has played a key role in bringing an end to the cruel 500-year-old practice of ‘dancing’ bears. Through years of rescue operations, legal action, and rehabilitation efforts, the trade was declared eradicated in India in 2009. Although WSOS rescued the last ‘dancing’ bear in 2009, we did expect rare situations where there would be a ‘dancing’ bear in need of rescue. This has happened a few times since 2009 near the Indo-Nepal border. Wildlife SOS is currently examining the factors that may have contributed to this and investigating the individuals and networks involved, with the aim of preventing such exploitation from taking place again. The cruelty inflicted on ‘dancing’ bears, including physical mutilation and forced performances is illegal and deeply inhumane. Any attempt to revive this practice is a clear violation of wildlife protection laws.
If you witness a sloth bear being abused, exploited, or forced to perform, please report it immediately to the Wildlife SOS at [email protected]. Timely information can help stop cruelty and save an animal from further suffering. We diligently continue our anti-poaching work, and remain steadfast in the resolve to save captive bears from a life of cruelty and neglect.
Feature image: Mradul Pathak/ Wildlife SOS
