Ep40 Sarah van Herpt on bear friendships, the importance of observations, and stories of healing

Sarah van Herpt is a senior bear team manager at Animals Asia in Vietnam, and she shares the work Animals Asia is doing and how they are working to improve the welfare of animals in captivity. In addition, they are working towards ending the dog-meat trade and ending bear farming. 

Sarah shares with us the daily routine of observation, feeding, and enrichment with the bears at the sanctuary. She explains all about the dens and bear houses in the facilities, the choice the bears have, and open access for the animals. 

Sarah talks about different behaviours at night, sleeping habits, secret friendships, and the different personalities they bears have, and helps us understand what a happy bear looks like and how they mimic faces of others when playing. She explains the different types of friendships found in the groups. 

Sarah provides some background on sun bears and moon bears, differences in biology, and care in captivity. She speaks about the interaction between them, the introduction to the groups, and the process of healing. Sarah concludes the podcast with some beautiful bear enrichment stories. 

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