I have always loved the idea of having a little pet monkey. Primates are smart and sweet and different from any kind of other animal out there.
They also happen to be a huge responsibility, expensive, and they're essentially furry little babies that never grow up. These facts always stop me in my tracks when I entertain the thought of buying exotic pets.
Some animals simply aren't meant to be domesticated or live indoors.
The exotic animal trade and illegal animal trafficking is a common problem all over the world. In the country of Laos, located in Southeast Asia, sun bears are typically taken from their mothers at very young ages and sold into the trade.
Miss Vientiane, also known as "Little Missy", experienced such a fate in the beginning of her young life. Her owners purchased her from an illegal market and took her home to be the new house pet.
As one would expect, having a bear in the house didn't go as planned.
Scroll through below to see what happened to Little Missy in the house and how a group of bikers came to her rescue.
[H/T: The Dodo]
Little Missy the sun bear was illegally purchased by a family and taken home to live as a house pet.
The young bear did not adapt to her new domestic life like a dog or cat would.
Her owners were unhappy with the sun bear's wild behavior and decided to give her up.
"As she became too expensive for him to care for, he was about to resell her to Chinese businessmen who had shown interest," Laos Wildlife Rescue Center (LWRC) explained on their Facebook page.
Little Missy was doomed to a fate of living out her life in an unsuitable setting for a bear or worse.
She was brought to Sainyabuli province, an area notorious for large mammal wildlife markets, when some unexpected rescuers arrived.
A large group of bikers were passing through and convinced Little Missy's owners to give the bear up to them.
The bikers knew of LWRC and knew this was Little Missy's only chance at leading a normal life.
The motorcade arrived to the wildlife rescue center 20 bikes strong with the little bear in tow.
For the first time in her life, the sun bear's fate was in the hands of people who truly cared.
Although the young bear will not be able to return to the wild due to the potential for human-animal conflict, the rescue center has provided her with the rehabilitation and space to live like she never had before.
Although the rescue center is happy to care for the bear, rescues like this always have their downsides.
"Not only has the mother of this bear likely been killed in front of her eyes, she will also most likely never be truly wild again," Michelle Walhout-Tanneau, director of LWRC, told the Dodo.
Despite the bittersweet realities of this rescue, Little Missy is in the best hands at the wildlife center.
LWRC is currently raising funds to build the little bear her own enclosure since all of the bear fields are filled with full-grown bears.
For now, Little Missy will continue to enjoy walks with her caretakers and enjoy a freedom that she's never experienced before.
If you'd like to learn more about sun bears like Little Missy, visit LWRC's Facebook page for more information!
Thanks to these incredible bikers, Little Missy will now have a second chance at a happy life!
What do you think about adopting exotic animals?
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