Sixteen undernourished Asiatic black bear cubs have been found in a home in Laos capital Vientiane by a conservation charity, the largest rescue of the year. The clutch of cubs, also known as moon bears after the white crescent of fur across their chests, are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Across Asia, thousands of the animals are kept as pets or farmed to extract their bile for use in costly traditional medicine.