These #moonbearmonday shots of elderly moon bear Crystal are eye-catching to say the least.

Crystal has been at CBRC since its earliest days. In which time those cool, calm eyes have seen quite a few changes and so many more bears arrive.

In her prime Crystal was part of a charismatic group made up of friends Gail, Heather, and Joy, dubbed "the knitting circle" by sanctuary staff. Sadly, Crystal’s closest companions have since passed on and Crystal has moved to our very own retirement home – River House.

As age takes its toll, Crystal has begun to have increasing health issues and has been in and out of the sanctuary hospital in the last few months.

Evidence of hypertension has been found via bleeding in the back of the eye. High blood pressure and its associated serious health issues is something we commonly find in our former bile farmed bears.

More unusually, Crystal has also suffered from the irritation of ingrowing eyelashes, which have caused corneal ulcers in both eyes.

Luckily, a recent visit from a team of British ophthalmologists ensured Crystal was in safe hands.

The team were able to surgically remove the rogue follicles and deal with the ulcers.

Throughout her ordeals, the sanctuary vet team have been astounded by Crystal’s stoicism.

Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa said:

“Old Crystal was calm and collected during her hospital visits. She is truly a trooper and we feel so bad for her and continue to spoil her with her favorite banana leaves and strawberry jam. She is a very lucky girl to have such good quality care from her eye specialists. Since then we’ve seen some improvements in her urine and bloods so fingers crossed the hypertension medication is working and it won’t be long before Crystal is back outside.”

Having been through so much already, everyone is backing Crystal to come through once again – she’s one tough old lady and has got a great team behind her.

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