The Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary provides new life for rescued bears. The sanctuary is designed to stimulate the bears’ natural behaviour.

The Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary provides new life for rescued bears. It’s located north of Hanoi, Vietnam, and spread across almost 30 acres of forest. The sanctuary is designed to stimulate the bears’ natural behavior.

The sanctuary is home to over 160 bears, many of which have health problems from their previous lives, so sanctuary workers hide medicine in the bears’ food to help them recover.

As bears are focused eaters – they only eat what they can find – this is the easiest way to medicate the gentle giants. The food is hidden in gyms to encourage the bears’ foraging instinct, so when they are ready to be released back into the wild, they are prepared.