WSPA UK - Victor Watkins' blog

Ever had a question you wanted to ask me about the bear sanctuary?

Chat with me, on Friday 5th December at 3.30pm after the final episode of Bear Sanctuary. My live web chat will run from 3.30pm to 4.30pm tomorrow afternoon.

I’ll be taking questions on the sanctuary and bear issues in Romania. You can ask me about the habits and habitats of the sanctuary residents and wild bears found in the Romanian forests. Or maybe you might want to know more about what it was like to film the series, or a particular bear that you’ve seen on the blog or in the Animal Planet series.

If you want to get ahead of the pack, you can post your questions before the web chat starts. Just add a comment to this blog entry and I’ll post them up tomorrow with a reply.

It’s very easy to join the chat, just click on the photo of me to the right hand side of this page (underneath 'Ask Victor') at 3.30pm tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks and see you tomorrow!

Victor

 

Victor's preview - episodes 1 & 2

'Bear Sanctuary starts on Thursday 13th November, showing two per night from 9pm. Missed it? Watch the repeat on Friday from 3pm. Find Animal Planet on SKY: 525, Virgin: 215, Tiscali: 107

Episode 1 preview:
Deep in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, the World Society for the Protection of Animals is building the world’s largest sanctuary for wild brown bears. When the sanctuary staff and I get a call to come and rescue two bears from a small zoo, we are horrified by the conditions that greet us. We discover that the two bears – Benny and Ala – have been in confined for nearly thirty years in tiny cages and have to try every trick in the book to get these two hungry and scared bears out of captivity.

Meanwhile, back at the sanctuary a young cub, Miro, has been brought in – he is in clear need of some care and attention – his mother has been killed by hunters. How will the sanctuary staff deal with the young orphan?

Episode 2 preview:
A recently rescued large male bear called Martinica has been nursed back to health after his rescue. He is ready to begin his new life in the Bear Sanctuary’s main forest enclosure, but sadly for him, he doesn’t know that he must first undergo one final procedure – castration.

This is a rough deal for Martinica, but we can’t allow any more cubs to be born in captivity.  Not when there are still over thirty bears still to be rescued across Romania.

Meanwhile plans are made to find the orphan cub Miro some company and we check up on the recently rescued bears Ala, Benny and another bear called Max.

Welcome to Victor's bear blog!

I’m Victor Watkins – Wildlife Advisor for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, who I’ve worked for since it began in 1981.

After witnessing the suffering of bears around the world, I set up WSPA’s Libearty campaign in 1991. The campaign to save the world’s bears saw us join forces with other groups to campaign governments on the issues facing the world’s bears – bear farming, bear baiting, bears in poor zoo conditions and dancing bears.

Bear protection and conservation projects have been an important part of my work, taking me around the world. I’ve worked on many bear projects; rescuing dancing bears, building sanctuaries in Greece and Turkey, undercover investigations into the trade in bear parts in China and Korea and into overcrowded bear parks in Japan.

Now, I’m delighted that the British public will get an opportunity to see and understand Romania’s brown bears, through Animal Planet’s Bear Sanctuary series, starting on Thursday 13th November. Join me in following the bears’ journey from rescue to eventual release in our sanctuary – a man made oasis for our rescued bears.