For more than 30 years, we’ve rescued hundreds of bears from bile farms and the illegal wildlife trade, giving them a second chance at life in our forest sanctuaries.

Due to the trauma they experienced in their earlier life, sanctuary will always be home for many of them. This work remains critical to the protection of bears in Asia.

But for a small number, there may be another possibility.

Our release programme is exploring whether some rescued bears can one day return safely to the wild.

It’s careful, science-led work, and it's going to be a long journey, but if there's a chance – then we owe it to these bears to try.

Bears don’t just live in forests. They help keep them alive.

They spread seeds across large distances, helping forests regenerate, break open logs and termite mounds, recycling nutrients, and they create space for new plant growth.

Bears are “forest gardeners”, shaping ecosystems in ways few other animals can.

When bears disappear, forests lose more than a species. They lose balance, diversity, and resilience.

Protecting bears in the wild, and getting rescued bears back out there safely, means protecting entire ecosystems.

What makes a bear suitable for release?

Many rescued bears were taken as tiny cubs, injured, or kept in captivity for years. For them, sanctuary is not a stepping stone, it’s a lifelong home where they can receive specialised care and facilities tailored to their needs.

Sadly, very few rescued bears will ever be suitable for release due to the trauma they have experienced. But through careful assessment, some may take the journey.

Every bear must be assessed for:

  • Physical health and strength

  • Natural behaviours (foraging, climbing, and nesting)

  • Human-avoidance behaviour

  • Independence from human care

Pre-release habitats

Across Laos and Cambodia, our Stage 1 and Stage 2 pre-release facilities are designed to mirror the wild as closely as possible.

  • Large, forested environments
  • Minimal human presence with remote feeding and tracking
  • Space to climb, forage, and build nests

These habitats allow bears to rediscover natural behaviours and independence.

Reducing Human Dependence

Bears must learn to survive without people if they are to thrive in the wild.

We use specialised protocols to support this, such as:

  • No direct human interaction
  • Remote feeding systems such as food catapults
  • Randomised feeding times to encourage natural foraging
  • Hidden observation windows and remote tracking for monitoring bears without human interaction

Safe forests

Release is only possible if the environment is safe.

Our field teams investigate bear activity in the wild, assess food availability and threats, and are working to identify protected habitats with minimal risk of poaching and human-wildlife conflict.

This research helps us understand where released bears have the best chance to succeed.

Protecting the future

A release doesn’t end at the forest edge.

We are working with government and conservation partners to:

  • Protect critical habitats
  • Reduce human-wildlife conflict and illegal wildlife trade
  • Monitor bears after release

DID YOU KNOW?

We’ve released almost 100 wild animals — including pangolins, leopard cats, macaques, tortoises, and more, after rescuing and rehabilitating them at our sanctuaries.