Abandoned circus bear Chada now living her best life
She spent decades entertaining folks; now she just gets to be a bear.
A rare, endangered Tien Shan brown bear named Chada spent years being dragged through circus tours, then abandoned in a rusted cage on an industrial lot. Missing teeth, with poor eyesight, and a lifetime of neglect behind her, she somehow made it into a sanctuary where she finally gets to live like a bear.
Chada — is Tien Shan (Himalayan) bear. These animals are listed in the International Red List as an endangered subspecies of brown bear. There are only three hundred of them left in the wild. Chada was born on Christmas Day, December 24, 1998. Her parents were brought to the Soviet Union from wildlife in Central Asia and distributed to public utilities — state circuses and zoos. From an early age, Chada was exploited in the Ukrainian national circus and spent most of his life on wheels, touring. Then the trainer sold the already unnecessary Chada to a private person for travelling circus shows. And he eventually left her in a small rusty cage in the industrial zone of the suburbs of Kyiv. The bear spent 7 years there. Then Chada was noticed by activists and they asked us to help. There was no space at that time, so Chada was taken to a private menagerie for detention. She was not tortured there, but the conditions of detention were still not acceptable for the bear. Finally, on 16.07.2019, Chada came to us in the White rock. After years in the circus, she has very poor eyesight and almost no teeth. Chada had a hard life but remained a fighter. And she became the star of our bear family because of her character and thirst for life.
This charming video tells the story of Chada’s rescue and her new life. She spent decades entertaining folks; now she just gets to be a bear.
When I was a young kid, I *loved* going to Ringling Bros circus. As I matured, I realized that elephants and other wild critters were, essentially, animal slaves. I'm glad that Ringling eventually stopped using animals in their shows (because of lawsuits from animal rights organizations). But since Ringling was forced to stop using animals instead of realizing they should voluntarily stop using animals (decades ago), I definitely won't enter their tent.