Dancing bear celebrates 7 years of freedom

India's last-dancing sloth bear celebrated its seven years of freedom on Monday at the Wildlife SOS's Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Center.

Raju, the sloth bear, was rescued from a 'kalandar' in 2009 by Wildlife SOS, an animal rescue organisation. The rescue put an end to the Kalandar community's tradition of chaining the bears for entertainment and dancing.  

Dr Arun A Sha, director, research and veterinary operations, Wildlife SOS, said it was indeed a memorable day for the organisation. "He is is the last-dancing bear to walk the streets of India. When rescued, Raju was in a pitiable state, undernourished and weighed less than 60 kilos. Today, he is healthy and enjoys his new life in the company of other rescued sloth bears at our Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Center," he said.

Raju had spent the first eight years of his life living in a deplorable condition. The dancing bears' noses or palates  are pierced with hot iron poker and a rope is passed through the fresh wound. The wound is never allowed to heal as it is tugged to make the bear jump in pain, said Geeta Seshamani, Co-Founder and Secretary of Wildlife SOS.

The practice of dancing bears was made illegal after the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, came into effect. Sloth bears are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and protected under Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Till date, the SOS centre has rescued over 600 dancing bears. The organisation's 'Dancing Bear Rehabilitation Project' was supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the state forest departments. It included the rehabilitation of the Kalandar community. The community dependent solely on the sloth bear for livelihood was provided education and alternative sources of livelihood.

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said: "Watching Raju take his first steps towards freedom stood testament for the end of India's dancing bear trade. In order to put an end to this cruel, inhuman practice and protect the indigenous sloth bear population, we had to begin at a different point – starting with the upliftment of the Kalandar community."