A keeper from an West Lothian zoo is fundraising in memory of a beloved bear that recently passed away.
The brown bear, Henk, died at Five Sisters Zoo after being rescued in Albania in 2017. When Henk was rescued by Bears Albania he was severely malnourished and living in a cramped cage so his keeper, Gary Curran, wanted to do something to help the people who rescued him.
Gary said: “We had to announce the sad unexpected loss of our beloved male Brown Bear, Henk. He was my best friend, a gentle giant and a firm favourite with anyone who knew him.
“I wanted to do something meaningful in his memory and so I have decided to raise some money for Bears Albania who were one of the main organisations behind the rescue of Henk and his sister Eso.
“We suspect the pair were poached from the wild as cubs after their mother was killed. They then spent several years living in horrendous conditions in a tiny cage outside a roadside restaurant in a remote area of North Albania.
“Severely malnourished, they were forced to survive off rain water collecting in puddles and cried for food. Thankfully they were eventually rescued in 2017 before arriving with us at Five Sisters Zoo in 2018.”
To donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/henk-fund
