Julia Roberts Named This Rescued Sloth Bear. 17 Years Later, Odum Is Living His Best Life.

Some celebrity stories fade fast. This one has been going strong for seventeen years. Back in 2009, Julia Roberts was in India filming Eat, Pray, Love when she visited a sanctuary and met a sloth bear recovering from a brutal life. He had been forced to dance for tourists and kept caged. Roberts gave him a name, Odum, and that name stuck.

Today, Odum is twenty-six years old and thriving at the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre, run by Wildlife SOS. According to International Animal Rescue, his days are calm and simple. A ripe muskmelon. A splash in his pool. A nap in a hammock specially made for him. New photos of him were just released ahead of World Sloth Bear Day on October 12, and he looks amazing.

Odum’s story is a reminder that rescue is not a single moment. It is years of steady care, and it works. What animal rescue story has stayed with you? Tell us in the comments.