All the bears we care for are special but Quantock is a living marvel  - truly one of the world’s most incredible bears.

And he’s watched over by a fantastic vet team worthy of such an incredible soul.

When Quantock was rescued from a bear bile farm by Animals Asia in 2003 he was in a bad way. The horrors of the farm had caused him to literally rub his face off against the bars of his tiny cage.

While his wounds healed with veterinary help -  arguably even more miraculous is Quantock’s inner recovery. Despite his history, this bear has managed to move on, to learn to live, and most amazingly, learn to trust again.

His recent medical with vets at our sanctuary in Chengdu was a reflection of the ailments many of our bears have to live with and just how our staff ensure they still have the best quality of life possible.

A fractured canine tooth was extracted and there were signs of cracking in his elbows and wrists which attest to his both his age and history. But overall, the vet team were pleased with Quantock and were relived there wasn’t too much to be concerned about.

Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa, the Animals Asia Veterinary Surgeon who performed Quantock’s recent medical, was happy with his results:

“He did relatively well today. He was calm when coming in and he has no evidence of high blood pressure which is great. I’m sure he’ll be happier now that his bad tooth is out too. After the check up he ate up chopped veggies then went home the next day and started playing with his buddies straight away.”

We’ll leave you with Bear Manager Heidi Quine’s words when she was asked last year to sum up one of Animals Asia’s most inspiring bears:

“To look at Quantock and his beautiful, scarred face is to be reminded about the hell on earth endured by bears held captive in bile farms. To know his spirit is to know forgiveness and resilience. Watching him wrestle with his mates, or lay spread-eagled in the sunshine, well it's just impossible to resist his charisma.”

Quantock is a walking, wresting, loveable miracle – huge thanks to our vet team for keeping him that way.

Happy #moonbearmonday!

Quantock is also the Animals Asia star of a special art exhibition by artist Lisa Watkins who is holding “If you go down to the Woods today” exhibition at the Dean Heritage Centre in the Forest of Dean, UK, from 17th May.  See details here.

For more Quantock Bear - here's a flashback to last year's Facebook posts when we spent a week in his presence. 

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