Nepal's last known dancing bears rescued

KATHMANDU - Nepali authorities have rescued the country's last known "dancing bears", officials said on Sunday, ending the medieval tradition of abuse of the beasts for entertainment.

The Himalayan nation banned performing bears back in 1973 but the illegal practice - a traditional occupation for some street performer communities - lingered on in parts of its southern region.

Police and animal charities said they spent more than a year hunting the captors of the sloth bears before they were traced to the Rautahat district near the border with India on Tuesday.