- Title: Spared starvation, two bears in Lebanon head to the United States
- Date: 18th July 2021
- Summary: TYRE, LEBANON (JULY 18, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BROWN SYRIAN BEAR IN CAGE AT ZOO VARIOUS OF FOUR PAWS VETERINARIAN, MARINA IVANOVA, ORGANISING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT BEAR INSIDE CAGE VARIOUS OF IVANOVA PREPARING ANAESTHESIA INJECTION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AT FOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL, AMIR KHALIL, SAYING: "Today, the team will give the bears the anaesthesia and we will transfer them from South Lebanon to a sanctuary in Colorado. It will be a long journey with a transit in Dubai then to Chicago then Colorado, so the bears need special care regarding anaesthesia and the dose given and its timing." KHALIL DARTING ANAESTHESIA AT BEAR TIME-LAPSE OF MEDICAL TEAM EXAMINING BEAR AFTER BEING DARTED WITH ANAESTHESIA (MUTE) ANIMALS LEBANON DIRECTOR, JASON MIER, AND KHALIL MOVING BEAR ON STRETCHER BEAR BEING EXAMINED MEMBER OF MEDICAL TEAM PICKING ITEM FROM KIT KHALIL AND MIER EXAMINING BEAR (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AT FOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL, AMIR KHALIL, SAYING: "Bears in nature walk more than 40 kilometres a day, it is not suitable for them to be staying in a 4x3 metres cage with a cement floor which does not meet international standards. We are happy that people here (owners of the zoo) agreed that these animals go to a better place to live a better life, and these bears should retire, it is not appropriate they will stay in a cage all their lives until they die." VARIOUS OF MEDICAL TEAM AND ANIMALS LEBANON STAFF CARRYING BEAR TO BE PLACED IN CRATES AHEAD OF LOADING IT IN TRUCK VARIOUS OF TEAM MEMBERS PUTTING BEAR INTO TRUCK VARIOUS OF BEAR IN CAGE VARIOUS OF BEAR BEING DARTED WITH ANAESTHESIA BEAR INSIDE CAGE BEAR SLEEPING IN CAGE BEAR'S PAWS / SLEEPING BEAR MEMBER OF MEDICAL TEAM COVERING BEAR'S FACE WITH TOWEL MORE OF STAFF CARRYING BEAR TO BE PLACED IN CRATES AHEAD OF LOADING IN TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AT FOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL, AMIR KHALIL, SAYING: "Today is the day we will be able to dart the two Syrian brown bears and bring them to a sanctuary in the United States in Colorado." STAFF CARRYING BEAR TO BE PLACED IN CRATES AHEAD OF LOADING IN TRUCK MIER AND KHALIL WITH BEAR IN CRATE MEDICAL STAFF GIVING BEAR INJECTION ANIMALS LEBANON STAFF AND FOUR PAWS INTERNATIONAL STAFF LOADING CRATES CONTAINING BEARS ON BACK OF TRUCK BEAR SLEEPING IN CRATE ANIMALS LEBANON STAFF AND WORKERS MOVING CRATES INTO TRUCK
- Embargoed: 1st August 2021 14:58
- Keywords: Animals Bear Lebanon Rescue Tyre United States Zoo
- Location: TYRE, LEBANON
- City: TYRE, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Middle East,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001EMDAJ47
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Homer and Ulysses are two Syrian brown bears that were rescued from a zoo in the suburbs of Tyre, southern Lebanon, and will be relocated to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado, United States.
A team from Four Paws International arrived in Lebanon to help with the medical procedures needed to move the bears on their long journey west.
The animals were kept in Lebanon's zoo for more than 10 years in a cage with a cement floor. They will be finally able to touch green grass and walk freely in their natural habitat, said, Jason Mier, Animals Lebanon director.
The bears will fly in two separate crates from Lebanon to Chicago via Dubai, before reaching their final destination in Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.
Animals are hanging on in similar conditions in all of Lebanon's five zoos, victims of a financial meltdown that has consigned more than half of the population to poverty and erased more than 90 percent of the local currency's value.
(Production: Issam Abdallah) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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