Bears in the air: DHL flies two Himalayan brown bears to their new homes

• The
  two highly-endangered bears are settling in Al Ma’wa for Nature and Wildlife in
  Jordan after a temperature-controlled multimodal journey from Islamabad
• DHL took care of the customs clearance and logistics,
  while global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS provided animal expertise

 

SINGAPORE
– Media OutReach – 14 January 2021 – Bubloo
and Suzie, two 17-year old highly-endangered Himalayan brown bears, took the
flight of a lifetime and have safely arrived at Al Ma’wa for Nature and
Wildlife in Jordan. After months of extensive preparation, which included
health checks, planning of routes, customs clearance and training for the
bears, DHL Global Forwarding and FOUR PAWS, a global animal welfare
organization, brought Bubloo and Suzie to their new home on 17 December.

 

“Being able to leverage our logistics expertise,
temperature-controlled capabilities and customs clearance solutions to help
animals, such as Bubloo and Suzie, relocate brings another perspective to our
mission of “Connecting People, Improving Lives”. The successful move, like so
many others that we have done, might have required more elaborate planning but brought
the teams so much satisfaction. We are glad that the bears are settling in
their new home in time to ring in the New Year,” said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL
Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.

 

The freight forwarding specialist of Deutsche
Post DHL Group managed the logistics of flying the animals, while veterinary
specialists from FOUR PAWS, who accompanied them on the same flight, provided
insights to make the journey comfortable for the bears. DHL chauffeured Bubloo
and Suzie, weighing 120 kilograms and 90 kilograms respectively, to the Islamabad
International Airport in custom-built cages that adhere to the International
Air Transport Association’s regulations. From there, they boarded their flight
to Jordan with a short layover in Doha.

 

“We are pleased to report that, after their
first-class flight experience that ended at the Queen Alia International
Airport, Bubloo and Suzie are thriving in their new home. The months of detailed
planning with DHL in coordination with local Pakistan officials and the
financial help of American businessman Eric S. Margolis, have paid off as the
bears begin to build their new lives at Al Ma’wa for Nature and Wildlife, a
sanctuary run by the Princess Alia Foundation and FOUR PAWS,” said Dr. Amir
Khalil, FOUR PAWS veterinarian and leader of the rescue mission.

 

On 30 November, DHL and FOUR PAWS relocated Kaavan,
also known as the world’s loneliest elephant, from the Marghazar Zoo in
Islamabad to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. In previous years, DHL
successfully helped four
grown endangered Ussuri brown bears travel across continents from Japan to
England, and sent two
giant pandas on a climate-neutral journey from China to Finland.

 

Note to editors:

Kaavan, a 36-year old Asian
elephant, was the first-ever adult elephant that was flown out of Pakistan. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the
logistics that moved the Asian elephant, which was kept captive for decades in
a Pakistan Zoo, to a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary to live out its days in
comfort and good company.