Ursa Freedom Project

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Here are some good pages for bears.

Advocating for Bears

AAF China

BSBCC Borneo

KWPLH Indonesia

Bubu the Andean bear

Cerah the sun bear

Andean Bear Project

Black Bear Conservation

Idaho Black Bear Rehab

North American Bear Center

Pacific Wild, spirit and grizzly bears

Raincoast, spirit and grizzly bears

Panda Survival Plan

Polar Bear International

Ursa Freedom Project

Wildlife SOS, sloth bear

Thanks to Gigih for creating these lovely badges for UFP.

TELL OTHERS ABOUT UFP!

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Events

NEWS

One of our UFP members, Sandrine, created this wonderful work of art to ring in the new year and remind us of the important work we have at hand to help the world's bears. To see more of Sandrine's fabulous bear art, visit her profile page or the photo album Art for the Bears.

 

Read the current issue of The URSA FAMILY NEWSLETTER. Share it with others!

Previous Ursa Family Newsletter

UFP RULES & GUIDELINES

UFP ARCHIVES

MEET JASPER

FREEDOM MOON
Buy this book and be inspired by rescue stories of bears Animals Asia has saved from bile farms. You will love seeing how the bears now live in peace at AAF's bear sanctuary in China. Your purchase supports AAF's rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

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Notes

Meet UFP Member, author Else Poulsen

Else Poulsen helps us better understand bears by providing an enlightening and moving portrait of them in all their richness and complexity in her book…

Continue

Created by Jeanette McDermott Feb 12, 2009 at 10:42pm. Last updated by Jeanette McDermott Nov 17, 2009.

Smiling Bears by Else Poulsen

Created by Jeanette McDermott Nov 16, 2009 at 10:25pm. Last updated by Jeanette McDermott Nov 16, 2009.

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Blog Posts

Faltering Light Project keep networrking

Posted by Radfax on March 2, 2012 at 4:38pm — 1 Comment

Victory! Korea Commits to End Bear Farming

Posted by Rebecca on February 20, 2012 at 3:37am

The Andean-Bear-Foundation

Posted by Claudia Cuartas on January 20, 2012 at 9:55pm

Running from Asia to Europe for Animals Asia

Posted by Maren Dallmann on January 14, 2012 at 7:47am

Animal History of London Walk

Posted by Maren Dallmann on December 21, 2011 at 8:30am

Foundation Save the Moon Bears report 2011

Posted by Ciska de hilster on December 8, 2011 at 6:25am — 1 Comment

Marko and Maria rescued.

Posted by Lynn Waddell on November 28, 2011 at 4:57am — 2 Comments

State of the Bears

One of the easiest, most personally gratifying, and earth-friendly projects we can undertake to combat excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to plant trees.

It’s one of the very few tools we have for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. And less CO2 means less global warming and better sea ice conditions for polar bears.

A single tree can help. A lot of trees can make a difference. 

Planting Trees for Polar Bears is a multi-dimensional program between a group of dedicated polar bear advocates. The goal is to plant 500,000 acres with trees. Learn more about the program.

 

Lend a Hand ... Sponsor a Bear through Free the Bears. Bears that need sponsors are in rescue and rehabilitation facilities in Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia. 

There are different adoption levels for varying costs. The Find Your Soul Mate category of the new adoption program lets you name your sponsored bear while bestowing the majestic animal with dignity and respect. 100% of sponsorships go directly to the bears. Read more

 

 

Two sloth bear brothers rescued in India

On  November 16, two sloth bear brothers were shipped to India's Bear Rescue Center, with volunteers assisting from Free the Bears and Wildlife SOS. The bears are being treated for severe malnutrition and poor health after having lived for years in a small dark concrete room at a zoo. 

Their feet were raw and their bodies wracked with pain and emotional despair. They had not seen sunlight in years. Today the bears are spending entire days at the rescue center gazing at the sky and soaking up the sun.

Three cheers for the compassionate people who rescue bears!

 

Kermode Bear featured in National Geographic

In a moss-draped rainforest in British Columbia, towering red cedars live a thousand years, and black bears are born with white fur.

The August 2011 issue of National Geographic features incredible images from photographer Paul Nicklen in two important stories by Bruce Barcott: Spirit Bear: the wildest place in America and Pipeline Through Paradise.

Paul Nicklen and his colleagues from the International League of Conservation Photographers cover a proposed plan to build an oil pipeline through the Land of the Spirit Bear in Canada's Great Bear Rainforest in the August issue of National Geographic.

 

  
Spring
   
Somewhere
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staring
 
down the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early spring
 
I think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tongue
 
like a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:
 
how to love this world.
I think of her 
rising
like a black and leafy ledge
 
to sharpen her claws against 
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever else
 
my life is
with its poems
and its music
and its cities,
 
it is also this dazzling darkness
coming 
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;
 
all day I think of her –
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.
 

~ Mary Oliver ~

 

 

(House of Light)
 

 

 

Got a story to tell about what you're doing to help bears? Defender s of Wildlife would like to hear it, and so would we at Ursa Freedom Project!  http://www.savebiogems.org/voices/

There are lots of goodies available for sale to raise money for the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre online fundraising campaign. Check it out on Facebook, or contact UFP member Sherri Reese. She's heading up the great fundraiser!

Five endangered sloth bear cubs and two sub-adult bears were rescued recently in the wee hours of the morning in Bihar, India. Three traders trying to sell the bears were arrested, thanks to the combined work of Wildlife SOS and the Bihar police and forest department. 

The five male bear cubs were between 3 - 5 weeks old and had been separated from their mothers, who were most probably killed by poachers to remove the cubs. The adult bears were being used as dancing bears in Nepal and were just smuggled back into India through Bihar. Both bears had a thick rope pierced through their muzzle and moved or "danced" when these ropes were pulled in response to the pain. Read more

 

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About UFP

Ursa Freedom Project is an independent project driven by people who are passionate about conserving bears and their habitat.

UFP mission
Ursa Freedom Project collaborates with others to give voice to the world’s bears through story and art so they may grow into a larger collective destiny with humans to heal their circumstances.

UFP focus
Six of the world’s eight bear species are threatened with extinction as a result of human activities. Even "least concern" species such as the brown bear are at risk of extirpation in certain countries. Many threats face each bear species, making strategies for local conservation necessary.

UFP strategy
UFP collaborates with organizations and individuals to assist on-the-ground conservation efforts in local communities. We enfold bears into story so their voice is heard and validated -- an act that allows bears to be received into culture and their lives transformed through acceptance. UFP advocates to conserve bears and their habitat and to free bears from persecution and exploitation by unleashing the power of knowledge and collective visualization to open hearts to understanding, wisdom, compassion and tolerance.

Story behind the name Ursa
Ursa Major (the Great Bear) is the third largest constellation in the sky. What is most familiar are the seven stars which make up the rump and tail of the constellation; we know them as the Big Dipper.

One Greek myth tells that the nymph Callisto, a servant of the hunter Artemis was made to bear a child by Zeus. Artemis banished Callisto for impurity.

Artemis gave birth to the child named Arcas. This made Zeus' wife Hera very jealous and, in revenge, Hera turned Callisto into a bear which ran away into the forest.

Arcas grew up to become a hunter. One day while he was hunting, the bear Callisto heard Arcas' voice and rushed to greet her son. Arcas, not knowing the bear was his mother, was about to kill her when Zeus intervened and sent both mother and son into the sky as the Greater and Lesser Bears.

Zeus grabbed them by their tails and flung them into the sky, and that is why these two bears have long tails.

Today, most of us need to use a lot of imagination to see the bear; however, cultures around the world have always turned to story to better understand the world and the role humans play in it. from starryskies.com

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RSS Sun Bears

Sun Bear Fundraising Events!

Hi everyone! There are two fundraiser currently going on at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre Fundraiser 2011. Sun Bear Kissing Booth going on now until June 1, 2012, or until there are no more. Click here to view the facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bornean-Sun-Bear-Conservation-Centre-Fundraiser-2011/103848556360766 For $5 you may purchase one of the cute “KISSED BY A [...]

We are looking forward to see you here soon!

Text and photo by Tee Thye Lim We would like to express our millions of appreciation and special credits to the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia through the Sabah Wildlife Department, for providing us the funds to expand the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC). Now, we are pleased to announce the completion of our observation [...]

Eastbourne resident fundraises for Jonny the sunbear

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/hutt-news/6939363/Eastbourne-resident-fundraises-for-Jonny-the-sunbear   Eastbourne resident fundraises for Jonny the sunbear   KAROLINE TUCKEY  A Lower Hutt woman was so moved by the plight of an Indonesian sun bear she’s started a fundraising campaign to build it a new enclosure. KAROLINE TUCKEY Small steps: Carol Gorham of Lowry Bay hopes Lower Hutt schools and residents will get [...]

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Anita Phillips posted a status
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May 15
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May 7
JoAnne Gallop posted a status
"Any1 have update on the bears N pit at Pigeone Forge TN.? The last I saw was 4/11 I hear they're covered N moldy food thrown N by tourists"
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guanita maniscalco commented on Radfax's blog post Faltering Light Project keep networrking
"thanks for sharing: signed"
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Radfax posted a blog post

Faltering Light Project keep networrking

The Faltering Light ProjectThank you for supporting the Stop the Trophy Hunt petition and the Faltering Light visual petition book project. Please help us reach 15,000 signatures by April 1st by forwarding this email to your friends. To date, over 11000 individuals have signed the petition. In 2010, I personally delivered the first edition of the book to the Minister of the Environment, Barry Penner, in Victoria.  Two years later no effort has been undertaken by the new premier to protect…See More
Mar 20
Profile IconRicky Hughes and joshua durney joined Ursa Freedom Project
Mar 20
Ruby Leslie updated their profile
Mar 10
Rebecca posted a blog post

WSPA: Reech, Shabnam & Pari have been rescued from bear baiting in Pakistan

Feb 15, 2012Some more great news for bears in Pakistan! Reech, Shabnam & Pari have been rescued from bear baiting. They  will now enjoy life in the beautiful grassed enclosures of the WSPA-funded bear sanctuary, Balkasar, along with eleven other rescued bears (including Milla, Shala & Lala)These three beautiful animals were rescued by WSPA…See More
Mar 1
Profile IconJuanita Bowen, Kyle Reynolds and Sonya Brucciani joined Ursa Freedom Project
Mar 1
Rebecca commented on Gerhard Kaiser's group Deutsche Gruppe
"WSPA Aufruf: Wir müssen diese Bären retten Sie sind eingesperrt in engen Käfigen. Jeden Tag laufen sie den kalten Betonboden auf und ab und beißen in das rostige Gitter. Immer wieder wanken sie hin und her - ein Zeichen des…"
Mar 1
Rebecca commented on Gerhard Kaiser's group Deutsche Gruppe
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Rebecca commented on Gerhard Kaiser's group Deutsche Gruppe
"Ukraine: VIER PFOTEN rettet Bär Potap Ein Notfallteam von VIER PFOTEN hat gestern einen misshandelten Braunbären in Luhansk (Ukraine) gerettet und bringt ihn heute in das Bärenschutzzentrum Synevyr. Dort erwartet ihn ein artgerechtes…"
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Learn More

Conservation issues related to bear species decline

Habitat loss
Wildlife trafficking and trade
Salmon Declines
Climate Change

Ethical issues related to bear species decline
Trophy hunting
Bear baiting
Bile farming
Den hunting
Nuisance killings

The Freedom to Roam project is extraordinary. It is a coalition of business, government, and conservation groups working together to conserve wildlife corridors across North America. Learn more.

Mending the Web of Life: Chinese Medicine and Species Conservation is a book for anyone interested in endangered animals and plants used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Six of the eight bear species live in Asia, making this region critical to bear conservation. Download the pdf to learn how understanding Asian bears can secure their future.

Trafficking bears and their parts for use in traditional Asian medicine is decimating wild populations of bears.

Unless urgent reforms are introduced quickly, many species face an irreversible fate: extinction. There are over 50 herbal alternatives to bear bile for use in TCM. Download the WSPA pamphlet Herbal Alternatives to Bear Bile.

The Wild Salmon Center monitors and reports on issues related to wild salmon and the grizzlies and other large predators that rely on them for survival.

Guillaume Chapron manages up-to-date and rigorous information on his carnivore conservation website.

Within these eco portals are key people and organizations that are working to heal Mother Earth.

Smithsonian Zoogoer has great stories about bears and their wild relations.

The natural environment provides the basic conditions without which humanity could not survive. The Convention on Biological Diversity promotes nature and well-being.

Download the Educator's Guide to Biodiversity and engage in dialogue about teaching youth about our wondrous Mother Earth.

The IUCN Red List is a key conservation tool. Download the pdf to learn more.

"The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to prevent future extinctions," says Dr Jane Smart, Head of IUCN's Species Programme. "We now know what species are threatened, what the threats are and where we have no more excuses to watch from the sidelines." Learn more about bears on the IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species.

Hunted for sport, shot for their fur, killed for their gall bladders, farmed for their bile, used as 'dancing bears' and used in circuses ... their habitat is being destroyed. They need our protection. ~ WSPA
Bears of the World
Bear Facts
Bears of the world poster

IB News covers biology, conservation, and management of the world's eight bear species. It also publishes book reviews on bears, articles related to bears in history and culture, and announces bear conferences and job openings. 

© 2012   Created by Jeanette McDermott.

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