Relatable.
By Lily Feinn
Published on Feb 14, 2020 at 12:27 PM
When Dillan first arrived at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, the large moon bear lumbered into his enclosure hesitantly. He soon discovered a bowl overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables and realized everything was about to change.
Up until he was rescued at the end of January, Dillan had spent his life inside a small concrete pen at a Pennsylvania roadside zoo. Without space to exercise, the bear quickly gained weight — leaving him twice as big as he should be.
“He’s literally 100 pounds overweight,” Kent Drotar, public relations director at the sanctuary, told The Dodo. “His belly hangs to the ground.”
The extra weight has taken a toll on Dillan’s health, putting stress on his ankles and feet and making it difficult for him to move around. But his rescuers are determined to help him drop the extra pounds.
Dillan isn’t too excited about exercise — instead, he’s taking the opportunity to relax in his new space. Unlike his old home located next to a shooting range, the sanctuary is the perfect place for Dillan to take a much-deserved nap.
“[He] just seems to enjoy the peace and quiet and in a very relaxed way slumbers off and on throughout the day,” Drotar said. “He has fallen in love with the firehose hammocks that we use for our animals.”
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At the sanctuary, Dillan is no longer showing signs of stress and when he is awake, his personality is starting to come out.
“Dillan is turning out to be a bit of a ham,” Drotar said. “He seems to enjoy mugging for the camera and likes the positive attention he receives.”
There’s even more fun stuff in store for Dillan. Soon, he’ll get a bigger home where he will be able to romp around a multiple-acre habitat with another rescued moon bear. His caretakers are hopeful that getting outdoors will help kick-start the weight loss, transforming him into a whole new bear.
But, for now, Dillan couldn’t be happier: “He is enjoying and learning how to live a life of luxury,” Drotar said.
To help support Dillan’s recovery, you can make a donation to The Wild Animal Sanctuary.
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No One Thought This Micro Kitten Was Going To Survive — Then She Met A Friend
“She literally fit in the palm of your hand.”
Last year, frequent cat foster mama Erin Moore took in the tiniest cat she’d ever seen. At 8 weeks old, the kitten was barely the size of most 3-week-old cats.
“She literally fit in the palm of your hand,” Moore said in a video for The Dodo. “She was half the size of a water bottle.”
The kitten, named Mouse after her miniscule size, was the extreme runt of her litter. Because she was so small, many people told Moore they didn’t think the cat would make it past 6 months old. But Moore was determined to do everything she could to give the micro kitten a fighting chance.
“Despite Mouse’s tiny [stature], she came fully loaded with the sass and the attitude of a teenager,” Moore said.
While Moore was taking care of Mouse, she took in another foster cat named Coraline. Like Mouse, Coraline also needed special care — her eyes had ruptured and had to be surgically removed. While the surgery was a scary experience for Coraline, Moore could tell that she had a curious, resilient spirit.
“It was as though she knew that she had a life to live that was going to be better and bigger than the life she had with eyes,” Moore said.
As Mouse was working on growing and Coraline was working on navigating without sight, the two kittens formed a beautiful friendship. Moore watched in awe as Mouse led Coraline around the house, helping her feel more comfortable.
“Mouse will, time and time again, show her things without her having to see things,” Moore said. “She has guided her to an open window so that Coraline can smell outside.”
Before long, Coraline was running around, climbing the stairs and jumping up onto tall surfaces with ease. Meanwhile, the confidence Mouse gained through helping Coraline gave her the strength she needed to grow big and strong.
Moore was so touched by Mouse and Coraline’s special bond that she decided to adopt both of them. It’s now been a little over a year since she first took them in, and they’re both thriving — against all odds.
These days, Mouse and Coraline spend their days grooming each other, play-fighting and cuddling. And even though they’re both full-grown, self-assured cats now, they still find ways to take care of each other.
“It’s so unique to watch the relationship that they have,” Moore said. “Even though they are not from the same litter, they do not have the same history of deficits, they understand each other.”
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