Animals Asia’s New Short Film ‘Moon Bear Homecoming’ Narrated By James Cromwell Follows The Epic Freedom Story Of 101 Rescued Bears
Karen Lapizco
Earlier this year, Animals Asia moved 101 rescued moon bears from an ex-bile farm across China to their award-winning sanctuary, the only bear rescue center in the country. The 1250 km journey from Nanning to Chengdu has made history in conservation, dubbed “the largest operation of its kind ever undertaken by any animal welfare organization.”
A film crew was following this momentous operation and after months of filming, Animals Asia has proudly launched the film, “Moon Bear Homecoming.”
The film showcases what it takes to carry out such a monumental operation, while Animals Asia’s team was racing against time to safely transfer 101 bears across China, with some bears needing special attention because of their health conditions.
As previously reported by WAN, the challenging mission took place in three phases from April 19 – May 27, with nine trucks per phase carrying the 101 bears the 1250 km (750 miles) from the ex-bile farm to the Chengdu Bear Rescue Center in Sichuan province.
Narrated by award-winning actor James Cromwell, “Moon Bear Homecoming” is ultimately a story about what a small team of courageous, compassionate people can achieve when they put kindness into action.
“I’ve been involved in promoting animal welfare for many years now and when I first came across the work of Animals Asia, I was astounded by their work for these beautiful moon bears,” said Cromwell, “So when I was asked if I would narrate the epic journey of 101 Asiatic black bears moving halfway across China from a former bile farm to an award-winning sanctuary, I jumped at the chance.
“These are not small bears. These are huge wild animals. A lot of them have chronic health conditions caused by their years on bile farms and need constant medication to deal with things like hypertension. The team was with them every mile of the way. I hope that everybody watches this remarkable film and joins me in helping to share their story as far and wide as possible,” said Cromwell.
