www.animalsasia.org Crystal is an absolutely beautiful bear. She has ebony black fur, which is thick and shaggy, and a wide lemon moon-shaped crescent on her chest. She arrived at the rescue centre hardly able to move in the tiniest of wire crush cages - and with an old style catheter, suggesting she had been in this shocking cage for over 15 years. The latex catheter tube led from her gall bladder, threaded underneath her skin and exited at the thigh, where it was knotted to stop leakage, and then untied whenever the farmer wanted to “milk” her bile. She had also been painfully de-clawed, to take away her defenses and make her easier to milk. After all she had endured, this sad little bear made remarkable progress and came through her corrective surgery and physiotherapy in just a few weeks. Incredibly, for a bear who had spent so many years in pain and unable to move, her personality was gentle from the outset and she won a special place in the hearts of the team. Today, Crystal adores the security of her cozy hanging basket bed and can often be found snuggling in with Heather, another female, like children at bedtime. She also loves to forage under the sun in the natural enclosure and can often be seen lying in the grass and gazing into the distance. www.animalsasia.org