Boki
Boki update
We noticed back in April that Boki appeared to be having seizures and was not quite himself. After having an MRI, we've found that Boki is suffering from hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). Whilst his condition was initially being managed with medication, this is no longer having the same effect so our next option is to perform surgery to drain the fluid from Boki's brain and give him a much better chance at a healthier, enriched life.
After consulting with medical experts and considering at length the ethics of this surgery, we believe wholeheartedly this is the best chance of providing a healthy and enriched life for Boki. We're working with specialist wildlife surgeon Romain Pizzi, the only person to have performed brain surgery on a bear before, who is the best possible person for the job and an absolute world leader in his field.
When we know more we will make sure to keep everyone updated on Boki's journey, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone for caring about how Boki is doing, coming to see him, and supporting us so far.
Help us give rescued bears a future
Sadly, not every bear gets to live freely in the wild. Many are imprisoned in private collections, bred for hunting, caged and farmed, or forced to perform in circuses. With your help, we can continue our incredible work rescuing these bears, and giving them hope for a better future.
You can support our bear rescue and rehabilitation programme by donating to Wildwood today!
Boki's story
During the Christmas season of 2022 we adopted a 10-month old bouncing bear cub called Boki into our bear family. He was born at Port Lympne to a brown bear rescued from Andorra. Unfortunately, he was rejected by his mother not long after being born, so the keepers at Port Lympne intervened and hand reared Boki.
As he started to grow, it was clear he needed a new home where he could learn how to be a bear, somewhere he would have the space to play and explore, and other bears to teach him natural behaviours. Following our success with Fluff and Scruff's rehabilitation, Wildwood was the obvious choice for the next stage of Boki's life.
From the second Boki arrived at Wildwood he settled straight into his new enclosure. Human interaction is essential to Boki’s wellbeing as he is slowly weaned from his hand-reared upbringing and learns bear behaviours such as foraging, so our expert keepers are kept busy making sure Boki is always entertained.
Not long after moving in, Boki was introduced to our two bears Fluff and Scruff, who immediately took him in. He's now become like their little brother, and can normally be found playing with the other bears - when he's not climbing up trees!
Unfortunately, as is often the case with rescued bears, Boki's journey didn't stop when he found a new home. One of the huge problems faced by brown bears is that they can be kept in really poor conditions around the world, so even after their rescue they can face medical problems, as well as the difficulty of overcoming past trauma.
If you'd like to support Boki and our team during this crucial time, please consider leaving a donation. Every contribution helps us continue our important work.
