After life alone on a bile farm, moon bear Cinta is now one of the friendliest bears ever rescued, and even the crankiest bears want to join his club.

For bears learning to live again after being rescued from bile farms, meeting other bears can be tough.

Many of them have endured decades in isolated agony. Once freed, they just don’t know how to get along – or simply don’t want to as they are so haunted by their past.

But Cinta is the exact opposite. He has proven himself to be such a friendly bear that his carers are calling him “the bridge”.

He initially made friends with fellow moon bears Lucky, Emmy, Long, Quang Yen and Hatu with such ease that his carers thought he was putting together a gang.

Animals Asia’s Vet Nurse Richard Thompson said:

“Cinta has proven himself to be really special. He has actively created a group for himself by helping several other bears cope with their bad past. The other bears have learned from Cinta how to forget what happened to them so that they can move forward with their lives, and accept friendship from others who have experienced similar events.”

Cinta was having such a positive influence on everyone around him that even the formerly solitary Song Sot came to accept the possibility of friendship.

Song Sot – whose name means “survivor” had never shown an interest in any other bear since being rescued, but thanks to Cinta and his gang, he finally has a group of friends.

So far, Cinta’s magnetic personality has amazed his carers and never yet failed to convince another bear in the healing value of friends and companionship.

But the next challenge for Cinta’s charisma will be his biggest yet. The team want to use him to help troubled bear Hoa finally accept other bears.

Animals Asia Bear Manager Kelly Donithan said:

“We’ve just started introducing Cinta to Hoa, who is a real fireball. She has shown very little interest in making friends up to now, but we thought with Cinta it was worth a try.

“It’s been one day, but we’ve all been amazed. Hoa and Cinta played almost non-stop. It is so impressive and if Cinta can keep Hoa in a good mood when she meets the rest of the group, this could be her opportunity to finally be part of a community of bears.”

Animals Asia has rescued almost 600 bears, mostly from the bile industry, and continues to care for nearly 400 bears at sanctuaries in China and Vietnam.

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