Wildlife Forensics Lab

Victim
Neme's book examines cases of trafficking in many species, including macaws, walruses, jaguars and bears, whose gall bladders are sought for their bile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The demand for the organs has created a high black market demand for Asiatic black bears, whose numbers have dwindled to 25,000 in the wild. This bear, named Chengdu Truth, was rescued from a bear bile farm in China, but died shortly after this photo was taken, succumbing to liver cancer, a common affliction among rescued bears.

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