Two Asiatic black bear cubs posted for sale on Facebook have been rescued in Laos as part of an illegal wildlife trade sting. Free the Bears, an international conservation nonprofit, coordinated the operation with local authorities in Oudomxay province after discovering the Facebook post while monitoring online platforms for wildlife traders. The advertisement featured two Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) sisters, roughly 2 months old and weighing less than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) each. “They had been taken illegally from the wild, and sadly their mother was likely killed in the process,” Free the Bears said in a press release. Both cubs, found malnourished and cramped in a plastic washing basket, were rescued within 24 hours of the Facebook post being discovered. They’re now receiving specialist care at the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary, the nonprofit said. Matt Hunt, CEO of Free the Bears, told Mongabay by email that the case highlights a dangerous evolution in the illegal wildlife trade. “In the past, bear cubs would change hands several times before reaching cities or bear farms, from hunters to village middlemen and onto other traders,” Hunt said. “Each time cubs changed hands was an opportunity for law enforcement to intervene. Today, with the rise of social media, hunters in even the most remote forested provinces can directly reach urban buyers through chat groups on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, or WeChat.” Hunt added that this digital shift makes the trade faster and harder to track: Once animals are listed online, they can…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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