‘He will live on forever’: Beloved Taronga Zoo sun bear dies

In 1995, a tiny black sun bear sat trapped in a cage in Cambodia destined for the chopping block.
After a remarkable rescue, the little cub – named Mr Hobbs – moved to Sydney’s Taronga Zoo in 1997 where he spent the next 24 years melting the hearts of his visitors and zookeepers.
He died on Friday, aged 25, but not before his life helped save 1000 bears.

All those years ago, an Australian businessman named John Stephens rescued Mr Hobbs from a Phnom Penh restaurant before he was fattened up to have his paws chopped off one-by-one, seared to stop the bleeding, and finally served in a soup as a local delicacy.

Mr Stephens contacted Perth woman Mary Hutton, who had begun a fledgling movement called Free The Bears in 1993.
“John rang me out of the blue one day,” Dr Hutton said. “He said, ‘Would you be interested in helping me relocate three sun bears to Australia?’

“I said, ‘What are sun bears?’ I knew nothing about them. It was a big learning lesson from day one.”
Arrangements were made and in 1997 the three bears – Mr Hobbs, Victoria and Lucille – were unveiled to huge fanfare at Taronga. The worldwide headlines catapulted the tiny Free The Bears charity from obscurity into the big time, and within a week Dr Hutton was overwhelmed with mail.

“One day we had a knock on the front door from a police lady who said, ‘What are you running here? There’s mail all over your front lawn!’” Dr Hutton said.
They counted $45,000 in just those first few days, enabling a rescue sanctuary to be built in Cambodia later in 1997.

When she heard Mr Hobbs would be euthanised on Friday, Dr Hutton said she was “absolutely devastated”.
“It was a very sad day for me. It was the end of a story that was the beginning of the fund.”
Taronga Zoo senior keeper Lesley Small cared for Mr Hobbs from the day he arrived and, while she was shattered by his death, she was pleased he “touched a lot of people’s hearts”.

“It’s a very sad time, we’re saying goodbye to a sun bear we loved just like a family member,” she said.
Ms Small said that when he arrived, “he wasn’t what he should’ve been”.
“He didn’t know some of the very simple challenges like climbing out of a gully or tree.”
But over the years he developed confidence and strength, endearing him to visitors and bonding him to his keepers.

“It can get a bit overwhelming thinking of him in the past tense ... [but] he will live on forever,” Dr Hutton said.
Dr Hutton estimates the money raised from the momentum generated by Mr Hobbs’ story has saved about 1000 bears.

for photographs of the remarkable Mr Hobbs - the most beloved Cambodian Expat ever in Oz >>
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/cons ... 56zht.html

How did you forget to include these Stern?

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:34 am ‘He will live on forever’: Beloved Taronga Zoo sun bear dies

All those years ago, an Australian businessman named John Stephens rescued Mr Hobbs from a Phnom Penh restaurant before he was fattened up to have his paws chopped off one-by-one, seared to stop the bleeding, and finally served in a soup as a local delicacy.

What a horrendous idea for a dish. Worst ever. Made me stop having breakfast this morning.