Founders of Wildlife SOS, Kartick Satayanarayan and Geeta Seshamani set out in 1999, to stop the cruel 400 year-old practice of using Sloth Bears as Dancing Bears for tourists in India. Torn from the wild as cubs, after their mothers' were killed- these bears were mutilated and trained with a rope through their muzzles to jump and dance to earn money for their handlers- the Indian Kalandar peoples. In order to stop the practice- Kartick and his team had to do more than just rescue the bears- they had to change a whole way of life for the poor people who earned a living with these animals. Now Wildlife SOS is the largest Sloth Bear rescue center in the world- a place where bears are cared for medically, physically and mentally...a tribute to the amazing legacy of Kartick and Geeta.
—Peter von Puttkamer