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Pleiku police rescue eight Tibetan bears

HA NOI — Forest rangers have seized eight endangered black bears from a home in Pleiku, in what they say is their biggest-ever wildlife-trafficking bust.

Senior forest ranger Nguyen Ngoc Ran said the bears were found during a crackdown on wildlife poaching in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Gia Lai.

The rangers found the seven bears last Friday at a house on Pham Van Dong Street, Ran said, and found the frozen bodies of three bears, two of which were infants, and four bear heads later that day.

Do Thi Duong, 42, told the rangers she had bought the bears from a trader in the neighbouring province of Kon Tum. She is now being held in custody, Ran said.

"This case cannot be handled by forest rangers, and will be handed over to the police," said head ranger Y Moi. The chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Vi Ha, has instructed local police to investigate.

Police have reported finding a dead wildcat, along with bear bones and antlers in Duong’s home.

The black bears are one of two species native to Viet Nam, and are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. — VNS