South-east Asia’s bears are highly threatened by a rapidly developing, resource-hungry human population from across the globe and the illegal wildlife trade. Since 1997, Free the Bears has employed a range of strategies to strengthen the conservation of wild bear populations through ranger training, wild habitat surveys and long-term population monitoring to increase knowledge of their range-states in Cambodia and Vietnam. Free the Bears also directly engages with local stakeholders to empower them as better custodians of forests, bears and wildlife.

Taronga has supported Free the Bears since 2013 through an agreed partnership to work together for the conservation of Asian bears, supporting a range of projects over this time. Currently Taronga’s support is assisting with the surveillance and risk mitigation of Tuberculosis in the world’s largest captive Sun Bear population.