Heartwarming tale of Benji and Balu the Baku Brown Bears
- Ayrshire Daily News
- Jun 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 5
The world of 2 miserable bears, a world class airline and wonderful animal charities came together at Prestwick airport last night.
Benji and Balu are 2 young bears who were kept in cage outside a restaurant in Azerbiajan. They were simply used as a tourist attraction and their care was really poor. A BBC reporter who investigated said that the bear brothers were “emaciated and injured”. They would have remained in a small cage and inhumane conditions but their captivity was ruled illegal by the Azerbijan courts.
An Azerbijan charity, Good World Animal Rescue and Protection said "Brothers Benji and Balu have lived a life of misery in a tiny cage on the side of a restaurant in Azerbaijan. Bored, hungry and suffering from serious injuries, these bears were kept there as nothing more than a novelty to attract customers."
The Isle of Wight based charity Wildlife Animal Sanctuary offered to give the bear brothers a new home and launched an appeal. The public responded and together they have raised £217,470 to build a new and natural home for the neglected bears.
The charity said “Our new habitat for Benji and Balu will be a massive departure from the life the two brothers have endured previously – with only concrete beneath their feet, no water to wallow in, and no place to hibernate. They will be able to enjoy a 3,500sqm enclosure built specifically for them, with grass, trees, ponds and dens for hibernation, as well as a varied diet and expert care from our team of Animal Carers to help them with their rehabilitation. This was all made possible through an incredible fundraising effort with massive support of the local community and beyond. After years of abuse, Benji and Balu will finally get a life they deserve.”
But the major problem of how to transport 2 bears nearly 3,000 miles from the edge of Asia to the Isle of Wight looked impossible. The permissions and paperwork alone would stop most charities from even attempting the journey. The cost was prohibitive. The care and health of the bears had to be a priority but how could such a journey be achieved ?
In stepped Luxembourg-based Cargolux, Europe’s largest freight-only airline, who offered to provide specialist transport kit and fly the bears from Azerbaijan to the UK at no cost. Teams of vets and carers were lined up to help Benji and Balu on their epic journey to freedom in a new home. Paperwork and permissions completed, both bears passed health checks and the rescue flight was planned. A scheduled Boeing 747 was operating from Hong Kong to Luxembourg. As a one off change it landed at the Azerbaijan capital Baku yesterday.
Prestwick is Cargolux’s UK freight hub and they know that Prestwick has decades of experience in handling specialist cargo, including live animals. Being on the Cargolux world-wide network, Prestwick handles many of their flights each week. However it is pretty unlikely that a Boeing 747 has ever delivered 2 brown bears from Baku for onward shipment to the Isle Of Wight.
In 2019, Cargolux also helped transport a pair of beluga whales, Little Grey and Little White, from a theme park in Shanghai, China, to a sanctuary in Vestmannaeyjar off the south coast of Iceland.
As we know Prestwick has recently started flights direct to China and 2 such flights were due out of Prestwick this morning. Prime Scottish salmon is one export which is taking full advantage of the chance to fly direct to China. The warehouses will be packed with Scottish salmon this morning. We wonder if maybe someone slipped a couple of delicious salmon into the cages of Benji and Balu for them waking up ?
What a lovely end that would be to this wonderful tale of charity and generosity.
