Riku the bear is free after 17 years trapped in tiny cage in Japan

[gregjrichards]

For 17 years, the only place Riku the bear could call 'home' was a cage measuring just two by three metres.

Now thanks to an 18-month rescue mission and an epic 5,400-mile journey, he and three other bears once kept as tourist attractions at a museum in Hokkaido, Japan, can finally start a new life in the UK.

Riku, alongside his 27-year-old brothers Amu and Kai, and a female bear named Hanako, have taken up residence at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, reports Grace Macaskill for Sunday People.

Riku the bear, who spent 17 years in captivity, flown from Japan to UK after 18-month rescue mission | Daily Mail Online

I hope the bears are finally happy for the rest of their lives.

 

[whatsnext]

View attachment 141012

For 17 years, the only place Riku the bear could call 'home' was a cage measuring just two by three metres.

Now thanks to an 18-month rescue mission and an epic 5,400-mile journey, he and three other bears once kept as tourist attractions at a museum in Hokkaido, Japan, can finally start a new life in the UK.

Riku, alongside his 27-year-old brothers Amu and Kai, and a female bear named Hanako, have taken up residence at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, reports Grace Macaskill for Sunday People.

Riku the bear, who spent 17 years in captivity, flown from Japan to UK after 18-month rescue mission | Daily Mail Online

I hope the bears are finally happy for the rest of their lives.

Smiling through tears in that case, I am grateful that there are still people who care and actually DO something for this tortured creatures. Thanks for sharing

 

[worldwatcher]

View attachment 141012

For 17 years, the only place Riku the bear could call 'home' was a cage measuring just two by three metres.

Now thanks to an 18-month rescue mission and an epic 5,400-mile journey, he and three other bears once kept as tourist attractions at a museum in Hokkaido, Japan, can finally start a new life in the UK.

Riku, alongside his 27-year-old brothers Amu and Kai, and a female bear named Hanako, have taken up residence at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, reports Grace Macaskill for Sunday People.

Riku the bear, who spent 17 years in captivity, flown from Japan to UK after 18-month rescue mission | Daily Mail Online

I hope the bears are finally happy for the rest of their lives.

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