A moon bear rescued by Animals Asia from one of China’s infamous bile farms has amazed her carers by overcoming paralysis to once again walk in the sun.

In March this year, vets at Animals Asia’s Chengdu Bear Rescue Centre discovered moon bear Erdi had suffered paralysis in her hind legs.

With no evidence of trauma, staff deduced that the issue lay in Erdi’s spinal cord as a fragment of her disc mostly likely ruptured and caused loss of blood supply to the area.  The condition is known as a fibrocartilaginous embolism of the spinal cord.

Animals Asia Resident Veterinarian Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa said:

“Erdi’s condition was a real shock to all of us as she had previously been in fine health. With spinal cord disease such as this, only time can tell if the patient will recover or not. 

“We asked ourselves why this happened to an apparently healthy bear like Erdi and could only speculate that the years spent wearing an illegal metal jacket on a bile farm stressed her spine and body. We think this, in combination with inadequate nutrition and chronic, long-term suffering, contributed to Erdi’s paralysis.”

Animals Asia’s veterinary team decided to confine Erdi to a smaller area to avoid causing any more damage to her spine.

Thankfully, by May Erdi had regained enough sensation to re-enter a den and now, five months on, she has finally set foot on grass again.

Erdi delighted her carers by fully exploring the extent of her private enclosure and nonchalantly munching on freshly foraged pumpkin.

Emily Drayton, Animals Asia Veterinarian, said:

“Erdi’s recovery has been nothing short of spectacular. It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago this moon bear couldn’t move her back legs at all. Then we could only respond, hope, wish, give her the best possible care that we could and be prepared to make difficult decisions for her if the time came.

“But Erdi has defied all the odds and the months of care have undoubtedly been worth it. To see a smiling Erdi walk on grass again is the best reward anyone could ever ask for.”

For now, Erdi will continue to live in a smaller enclosure as part of her transition and physical rehabilitation, with the hopes that in a few weeks she can return to the main group bears.

Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“Erdi’s story is truly inspirational. She survived a bile farm – her body mutilated by an illegal metal jacket – and now she’s overcome paralysis. There are no words for an animal as stoic and determined as this one. She’s won the lottery twice and we hope now she will finally be able to live out her days in comfort. If anyone has earned her days in the sun, it’s Erdi.”

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