Alongside the moon bears at Animals Asia’s Vietnam sanctuary, there is a growing sun bear community including these two characters – David and Arkte. These small bears – often called “dog bears” in Vietnamese – grow to about half the size of a fully grown moon bear.

After enough time at Animals Asia’s sun bear house, even these traumatised bears forget their past hardships. And that’s definitely the case with the sun bear enclosure’s friendliest bear, David.

Both David and sun bear neighbour Arkte have been residents of Animals Asia’s Vietnam sanctuary since 2008, when they were rescued from a bile farm in central Vietnam. Thought to have been smuggled in from Laos, David and Arkte have enjoyed a peaceful existence since then – except when David is bugging Arkte.

Vietnam Bear and Vet Team Director Annemarie Weegenaar said:

“We all find David to be charming, but we’re not always sure Arkte does. David has a way of getting into other bears’ faces. His best friend Nelson doesn’t mind it so much and the pair are happy to play fight. But David doesn’t seem too good at taking a hint when Arkte’s not in the mood.

“It’s an ongoing soap opera with these bears. They’ve been built a life here with everything they need. They’ve nothing to worry about – nothing but the little things. Who to play with? What to do today? Who do they want to share their time with and who they’re currently in a huff with. That’s life. And it’s a pleasure to let them live it.”

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