Sridevi the dancing bear was rescued from streets of Nepal, but died after being put on display in a squalid zoo cage
Government officials defended the care the bears have received, saying the zoo is the only facility in Nepal able to house them
One of Nepal’s last known dancing bears that was recently rescued has died after being transferred to a zoo, an animal-rights activist said Wednesday, blaming the death on “negligence”.
The two sloth bears were rescued in southern Nepal in December last year from a pair of itinerant street performers who used the animals for entertainment.
Soon after their rescue, the bears – 19-year-old male Rangila and Sridevi, a 17-year-old female – were transferred to a zoo near the capital Kathmandu where they were put in cages on display.
A few weeks later, the female bear died.
“(We) were told that she had some problem in her liver and that it was jaundice,” said Niraj Gautam of Jane Goodall Institute Nepal, who was involved in the rescue of the bears.
“These animals should have been thoroughly checked. There was nothing. That’s the negligence we want to point out.”