“When I first saw Franzi, she was in the smallest cage I’d ever seen.”

That was from Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson’s recollection of Franzi’s rescue. Along with 18 other moon bears, Franzi was saved from the bear bile trade in late 2002 and taken to Animals Asia’s China sanctuary.

The other bears hadn’t fared too much better, but Franzi was a special case – after 22 years spent in a cage, her body had been stunted and deformed by her tiny prison. Even though Animals Asia had freed her from her cage, its effects influenced her for the rest of her life.

Jill wrote:

“She was a perfect and tragic example of ‘stress dwarfism’ ­– she had a normal bear-shaped head, but a crudely stunted body because she had been squashed in a cage just 18 inches high, three feet long and 19 inches wide (45cm x 90cm x 50cm) for more than 22 years. The legacy of this cage, now stacked with a pile of other rusting torture traps in the grounds of our sanctuary, stayed with Franzi throughout her life. The depleted shell of an animal that emerged from those cruel bars was just three-and-a-half feet (100cm) tall and weighed just 105 pounds (48kg).”

Unbelievable though it was, Franzi would soon learn to live in comparative peace with her disabilities, and go on to live a happy life for her remaining seven years. It seemed like a miracle that she could start trusting and loving so quickly – after suffering for a lifetime. She adapted to her new space and her rich diet, speedily becoming a loveable eccentric bear who wouldn’t accept grapes that hadn’t been peeled and deseeded. Despite her size she could defend herself, and would swat at her enclosure mate when he tried to pick up the cherry tomatoes she’d discarded.

In that time she made admirers like Steve Irwin, the Australian conservationist who championed the victims of the bear bile trade. Irwin even referred to feisty Franzi as “a hot little tart”.

She also found companionship in those happy years – with a special needs bear named Rupert, who bore his own scars from his years in the bile trade. Even though Rupert was three times Franzi’s size, he was incredibly gentle around her, letting her lead the way. But on the coldest of nights the pair would snuggle up.

Nearing her 30th year, her health problems caught up with her. Her bravery and strength had meant she’d held on for her rescue and held on longer still to enjoy her freedom. Against all the odds she had lived a century in bear years.

At her funeral, among the notes from her carers, was the following:

“It is really sad to hear that the grandma of the sanctuary left us. But you know in China, if a person dies after age 80, he will be seen as a blessed person and the family will have a ‘happy funeral’ for him. Though Franzi had suffered a lot of pain in her life, I believe at the end she would say her life was worth living.”

Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson writes about Franzi in the book "Bear Necessities", a compilation of bear stories from around the world. You can read more about this on Jill’s Blog 

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