The four are among the fortunate inhabitants of India's only sanctuary for sloth bears, situated in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Agra.

They were rescued from their gypsy owners, known as Kalanders, who have been eking out a living for the past 300 years by making the animals "dance".

The Agra Bear Rescue Facility run by Wildlife SOS, an Indian animal rights group, now houses 43 animals including Damru, Bijli, Rasgolla and Gulab Jamun.

The sanctuary, which began operations on December 26 with 16 bears, is funded by Australia's Free the Bears Fund, One Voice of France and the British based International Animal Rescue.

It has artificial dens, two large pools, two quarantine pens, a laboratory, and a veterinary clinic. Bears are kept in air-cooled pens but allowed to roam more freely at feeding time in the afternoons.

While some of the bears housed in the 7.6 hectare (19 acre) sanctuary were seized from the gypsies by police and handed over to Wildlife SOS, others have been surrendered by their owners.

Azad, a Kalander, among a group of 20 who turned up at the sanctuary earlier this week to hand over his animal, said he used to earn about 500 rupees (10 dollars) a day from his "dancing" bear.

"I have decided to give up the animal because the money is too little for me to support my family."

Harassment by the police for not having proper papers to keep wild animals was another factor, said Azad, who like many Indians uses only one name.

"Four Kalanders were arrested by the police when they went to (the northern state of) Punjab last month.

"They were put into prison and the animals confiscated. It's easier to start some other work than constantly keep running from the authorities," he said.

Australian Mary Hutton of Free the Bears Fund said the "aim of setting up the sanctuary was to free the animals while ensuring that their owners don't suffer if their means of livelihood is taken away.

"We give the each person who surrenders a bear 50,000 rupeesdollars) to make sure he can start life afresh," she said.

Hutton estimated that there were at least 1,200 dancing bears on the streets of India, mostly in Agra, a huge draw for tourists due to the fabled Taj Mahal.

The bears are stolen as cubs from the forests of Uttar Pradesh, neighbouring Uttaranchal, the central province of Madhya Pradesh and eastern Orissa state.

"All of them are traumatised. Some have their jaws broken, others are suffering from infection," Hutton said.

As for the dancing, she has her own explanation to counter that of the Kalanders.

Normally, owners pierce the nose of the cub to insert a thick rope through it, she said.

"When the owner pulls the bear up with rope, its hurts the animal so much that its stands on its hind legs and twists and turns in the direction of the pull to mitigate the pain. That is what is called dancing."

Rasgolla and Gulab Jamun -- cubs rescued by Wildlife SOS on Tuesday and named after Indian sweets -- were in pain after having their muzzles pierced and their canine teeth forcibly removed, Hutton said.

At the centre, they were dosed with antibiotics and were just beginning to resume their normal diet of honey. Kalandars feed their bears only milk and "chappattis", a flat bread.

According to Karthick Satyanarayan, who runs Wildlife SOS with colleague Geeta Sheshamani and a staff of 25 others, of the 23 Kalanders who have been rehabilitated under the project, "16 are happy with what they are doing now and have not reverted to dancing bears for a living.

"This is good news for us."

The bears cannot be released in the wild because of their changed nature but they will be given larger pottering ground in the sanctuary, which is soon to be expanded fourfold, said Satyanarayan.

But for every Kalander who surrenders a bear, there are many who continue to make their animals "dance".

An AFP team came across five animals at Kosi, a town 100 kilometresmiles) southwest of New Delhi on the highway to Agra, visited by hundreds of tourists every day.

"Go on, you can shake hands with it," said Shamsher Sheikh, a Kalander who owns a four-year-old bear named Ramu.

After five minutes of "dancing", he demanded 200 rupees (four dollars) for the entertainment, but grumbling, settled for 50 rupees.

"I treat the bear like my child and I cannot feed it properly with just 50 rupees," he said.

TERRA.WIRE