Bear named Sen sees the sky for first time after 27 years in captivity
An Asian black bear named Sen, held for 27 years in a cage on an illegal bile farm in Vietnam, was freed and filmed stepping onto grass and swimming for the first time.
Animal welfare organization Animals Asia has shared a video showing an Asian black bear, also known as a moon bear, named Sen, who spent his entire 27 years of life confined in a narrow wire cage on an illegal bile farm in Vietnam. The footage, which has gathered millions of views, captures the moment the freed animal steps onto green grass for the first time and enjoys a swim in a pool, as well as the moment he looks up at the open sky without rusty bars for the first time.
A promise that changed bears' fates
Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson visited an illegal bile farm in Vietnam years ago as a tourist, where a caged female bear reached her paw through the bars and gently squeezed Robinson's fingers, as if asking for help. At the time, Robinson had no legal or practical way to rescue the animal, but the encounter became the reason she founded the organization, vowing to return and put an end to such suffering.
More than 700 bears rescued
Sen lived at the same farm where that first encounter took place years earlier. Since its founding, Animals Asia has rescued more than 700 bears from the conditions of illegal bile farms.
