To say I have come face to face with many wild animals living in their natural environment is true; to say I have met some outstanding Australians who are wildlife crusaders is also true. The person I most admire is Mary Hutton who founded Free the Bears Fund in Perth, Australia in 1993. While I was researching designs for endangered bears I was honored to meet Mary a few times in a few different countries; India, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and in Sydney, Australia.

Let me tell you an amazing story of what happened after Mary Hutton watched a local current affair program in Perth, Western Australia. Mary saw a segment that changed her life, and the life of her family. The segment contained horrifying footage of Asiatic Black Bears held in coffin sized cages unable to move or turn with non-surgical steel pipes inserted directly into their gall bladder. Every two weeks or so their keeper would insert a syringe into the tube and "milk" them for their bile - an Asian cure-all medicine. Gall bladders have been used in Asian medicine for centuries; however bear bile farming is a relatively new procedure so that the bear, instead of producing only one gall bladder from its carcass, can be "milked" of its bile for its entire adult life.

The next day, Mary drew up a petition and stood herself at the entrance of the local shopping mall. Within months, she had thousands of signatures, a regular group which became a committee and was beginning to receive information from other animal funds around the world - Free the Bears Fund was formed.

When the petition signatures reached 130,000 Mary and a small delegation of school children representing Free the Bears Fund were permitted to present them in person to the Chinese Embassy in Canberra. The surrounding publicity and continued public interest eventually lead to plans to play an even more active part.

In order to do more, money was needed. Lamington drives, film nights, raffles (using donated prizes) and collection tins placed in shops and vet centers laid the foundations. Soon donations were being received and fund membership and merchandise became available.

During this time, Mary became aware of the plight of other bear species, particularly the Sun Bears of South East Asia. Not only were they the least known and most endangered bear species, they were undeniably the worst treated. Mary received a phone call from an Australian business man, Mr. John Stephens, who was based in Cambodia. He informed her of some small Sun Bear cubs that he had acquired from restaurants in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, and was holding at his house. "Could Free the Bears find a home for these cubs"? He had tried everyone else to no avail. Mary got on the phone and did not get off until she had the answer she was looking for.

Mr. Wil Meikle, Director of Life Sciences at Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo, said if the criteria could be met, he would gladly give them a home.

After a lot of import, export and quarantine procedures, a first was achieved. The three Sun Bears, named Mr Hobbs, Victoria and Lucille, became the FIRST transfer of an endangered species from Cambodia to Australia.

Free The Bears Fund Inc is now active in several countries in south-east Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Kalimantan and India, saving Sun Bears, Asiatic Black Bears and Sloth Bears. To date 613 bears have been saved and Free the Bears Fund is the only fund saving bears from the streets of India. As such, they fully fund the program for Kalendar rehabilitation.

There are numerous ways to raise money to save beautiful bears. Free the Bears Fund organizes eco tours to volunteer at their wildlife sanctuaries while touring the magnificent sights of each country. Personally I have visited four bear sanctuaries and been on two tours last year to Cambodia & Laos and through Rajasthan in India. Both trips were outstanding and such great value where your participation on the tour helps save a bear directly. For information please go to www.freethebears.org.au and shortly you will be able to purchase my first designer t-shirts for the Wildlife Crusader label that I have designed specially to create awareness of the endangered bears and raise monies to save them. http://www.wildlifecrusader.com/endangered%20species_wildlife%20crusader.htm

Ro London - Wildlife Crusader - www.wildlifecrusader.com Animal lover and wildlife designer Ro London, with her Sacred Fish Collections and Wildlife Crusader designer labels attract attention with vibrant patterns of unique wildlife designs printed on fine silks & natural fibres.  Ro London creates spectacular fashions from her own fabrics using bold bright colors and inspirational artwork to draw attention to the world's endangered species. Each wildlife design emphasizes how we risk losing our precious animals living in their natural surroundings; every species chosen for a textile design has its own theme song! Ro's enchanting and spiritual CDs are rich with exotic melodies that demonstrates her deep concern for the preservation of our rare and threatened animals. Ro, is a dedicated artist who spends her whole working life exploring exotic habitats around the world in pursuit of the intricate details that make up her extraordinary designs. Ro lives in Tallai Hills Estate, Queensland Australia. You can reach Ro This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it