00:00It's back to Taronga Zoo in Sydney for these zookeepers.
00:06They recently returned from Laos, where they volunteered to help vulnerable bear cubs saved
00:11from the illegal wildlife trade.
00:13It was also so heartbreaking because the 18 cubs that were seized and rescued from these
00:18poachers would have all had their mums killed out in the wild.
00:24It's thought that was the world's largest single bear rescue, and the animals would
00:28have been destined for life on an inhumane bear bile farm.
00:32The illegal practice is used to extract chemicals from the gallbladders of bears to be used
00:37in traditional Chinese medicine.
00:39The Australian charity Free the Bears operates in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
00:44It's just had the busiest year in its history.
00:46Our population of bears has gone up by 25% in a single year.
00:51That places huge strain on us from all angles just to look after these animals.
00:56If this continues next year, I do really fear for the future.
00:59Now if you've ever been to Taronga Zoo before, then you very well may have seen the resident
01:03sun bear here, Mary, and it was working with her that inspired the zookeepers to travel
01:07to Laos to volunteer their time and their skills.
01:10Her parents were rescued 17 years ago.
01:12There's a deep connection there, and so I feel like there's a lot of suffering in the
01:17world with animals, and sometimes you feel like there's no hope.
01:20Any way that I can help out is worth it for me.
01:24The team at Taronga has carried out work for the animals to enhance the quality of their
01:28lives at the rescue centre.
01:30We were predominantly making enrichment, so that involved us making things like hammocks,
01:36feeder toys, we even made a barrel raft, which is something that the bears absolutely loved,
01:41and they were able to play with it for ages.
01:45The keepers are planning on making it an annual trip.
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